| curioser and curioser ( @ 2008-12-21 00:16:00 |
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| Current mood: | thoughtful |
| Current music: | "The Antipop" by Primus |
| Entry tags: | otp: dean/janis, otp: sam/nina, writing: supernatural |
Wash Away My Sins: Chapter One - Supernatural
Title: Wash Away My Sins
Authors: Aratocriel and Jade Blood
Rating: PG-13 (will warn if rating grows stronger)
Characters/Pairings: Dean, Sam, Dean/OFC, Sam/OFC, OC!villains
Disclaimer: Supernatural and it's characters belong to Kripke and the CW. Nina belongs to Aratocriel, and Janis belongs to me (Jade), so no using them without our permission. We make no profits from this and are just having fun!
Summary: A year after the events of "Unity in Duality", Janis and Nina are a bit savvier regarding the world of the paranormal, but the resurgence of old enemies has left them needing the help of the Winchesters once more.
Author's Note: Here's that sequel we promised! I hope you enjoy it and that it proves as entertaining as "Unity in Duality". :D
Chapter One
“Thanks, Reg! I owe you ten bucks for gas. Don’t let me forget!”
As he always did on late nights, Reg stuck around with his headlights burning against the siding until Janis was safely on the porch. He was a little older and perhaps enamored, and Janis was a bit ashamed to admit that she milked that for her own reasons. Rides back and forth from work with some extra insurance against things that went bump in the night didn’t sound too bad to her, even if she did have to bat her eyelashes to get it. There was a time she’d have hated herself for that, but that felt so long ago. She had her key at the ready and let herself in, waving one last time before ducking into the safety of the house.
“Home!” she announced, then shut the door and put on its myriad locks. Her entrance had disturbed the line of salt at her feet, so Janis quickly grabbed a broom and brushed it back in place, going so far as to take the half-full bag that waited just off to the side and add a hefty amount.
Nina must have either been in the shower or simply wasn’t coming out of her room for the moment; Janis wasn’t sure which. As she made her way to the kitchen, she continued talking across the house. “I know you hate me being out late like that, but don’t be pissed! Reg drove me home like always and waited until I was safe inside! So…”
She had opened the fridge to pull out the makings of a turkey sandwich when the lights began to flicker. She straightened and moved cautiously to the window, where another line of salt was spread across the sill and a devil’s trap painted above her head. She could barely see into the darkness from the light all around her which obscured her view. She fished for the switch, clicking it off and gasping not at the sudden blackness, but at a figure standing just ahead, facing her.
“Nina!” she shouted. “Nina, come here!”
Nina had just been climbing out of the shower when the lights flickered. At Janis's call, Nina tugged a towel around herself and bolted out of the bathroom, stopping only to grab the shotgun that was stashed behind a bookshelf in the hallway.
"Janis?" Nina called, rounding the corner into the darkened kitchen. She could just make out Janis motioning to the window.
Nina approached, her eyes squinting to see the shadowed figure staring back at them.
"What the hell!" Nina jumped, the shotgun flying up into the ready position as banging noises came from the front of the house, the lights blinking once more.
As suddenly as it started, it stopped, and when both girls looked back through the kitchen window, the figure was gone. Nina crept into the living room, the shotgun pointing ahead of her as she made her way towards the front door, Janis just behind her.
Along the way, Janis crouched and slipped a knife from the inside of her boot. She doubted it would do much good, but it was the closest thing at hand. She flicked on the porch light, put her hand on the doorknob, and nodded to Nina. She then flung the door open, standing at the ready just behind her. Yet there was nothing to be ready for. Nina pointed the gun out at nothingness as Janis caught something in her peripheral vision that was much closer.
When she turned to view it fully, she gasped and shoved herself away from the door, letting out a shaky, “fucking hell…” A clump of blood and fur was nailed to the door, and her mind slowly began recognizing it as an animal. A dog.
"Oh my God…" Nina muttered, taking a step closer to the bloody mess. "This is Jessica's dog, from down the street. We have to get it off the door."
“Stay here,” Janis ordered, then hurried back inside and fished through the kitchen drawer until she found a hammer. She hurried back and motioned for Nina to keep a lookout while she pried the nails free, wincing as the carcass fell into her arms. “We can’t bury it tonight… We’ll have to keep it in the basement…”
Nina winced and pushed the door shut behind Janis, repairing the line of salt at the threshold that had been disturbed. She then locked the door in every conceivable way.
Janis followed as she lead her down to the basement, grabbing a trashbag on the way to slip the body of the poor dog in. "Janis, you're thinking what I'm thinking aren't you?" Nina asked, flipping the light on and starting down the stairs.
“Demon,” Janis replied as she followed, still holding the bloody body against her chest and fighting tears. She’d petted this dog, laughed as it and Jessica had chased each other across their yard. “Or plural. Trying to send us a message because they can’t get in.”
"That's just lovely," Nina huffed. "I can't believe they fucking found us."
Setting the shotgun down, Nina held open the bag, and Janis gently set the dog inside of it. Nina tied it off and put it on the floor, and both girls were silent for a moment, looking down at the black bag as they contemplated what this meant.
"You know what we need to do, right?" Nina asked, breaking the silence and gathering the shotgun back up.
Janis nodded as she ran a hand idly over the blood soaking into her shirt. “We’re gonna need some help.”
* * * * *
“Hey, Sammy,” Dean spoke up from the table across the room. Newspapers and the laptop were spread out in front of him. Sam was propped up in bed, reading idly through an old tome Bobby had lent to them.
He raised his head at Dean’s words. “Found something?”
“Maybe,” Dean grunted. “Really weird. I mean, obviously weird. To people who aren’t just us.” He lifted the obituaries and pointed to the page. “Eagar, Arizona. Three people dead, all sharing the same birthday in 1983.”
Sam sat up, laying the book aside. “It can’t be the Yellow-Eyed Demon. We--”
“Shot in him in the heart, yeah,” Dean agreed. “So what then?” Sam shrugged as Dean snorted at the three, short blurbs. “And these people have the weirdest names, man. I can’t make head or tails of this one.”
“Why don’t you take a break?” Sam suggested. “I’ll look and see if I can find anything you missed.”
“Yeah, okay,” Dean agreed, moving away from the table to make room for Sam to begin anew.
An indeterminate amount of time later, at least to Dean, he was shaken awake with Sam’s wide-eyed countenance hovering over him. “Hey… what’s…?”
“I figured it out,” Sam replied and grinned despite himself. “I looked up those names? Couldn’t find a thing. No death certificates, no birth certificates, no records that they even existed. They’re not real people, Dean.”
Dean stared at him, then uttered an uncertain, “What?”
Sam went back to the table and snatched up a notepad. “Then I realized that all three names contain the same letters arranged in varying orders.”
A light appeared to go on above Dean’s head, and he muttered, “anagram” while reaching for a paper and pen of his own.
“Don’t bother,” Sam grinned. “I solved it.” He thrust the notepad into Dean’s hand and thumped it where a row of letters was circled nearly fifteen times.
“Janis and Nina,” Dean said slowly, then gazed up at his brother with immediate understanding that bordered on being appalled.
“Eagar, Arizona,” Sam replied. “That’s where they’re from, remember? I kept wondering why the name of the town was nagging at me…”
“Something’s after them, you think?” Dean asked as he jumped up and pulled his jacket on.
“I’m certain of it,” Sam replied softly, moving to gather his things as well. “If they didn’t feel safe enough to call, there’s no telling what…”
“Then we don’t have anymore time to waste,” Dean growled. “Get your stuff, Sam. Hurry up…”
* * * * *
Dean and Sam eyed the houses they passed, counting them silently in their heads until they found the fifth one on the right, as they’d been instructed. Telephone polls and small signs along the curb sported pictures of dogs and cats with pitifully large letters proclaiming them “MISSING”. Dean pointed to one of these.
“That can’t be good,” he muttered.
“That makes five,” Sam said, pointing in the opposite direction toward a modest house up ahead.
* * * * *
"We have enough salt to last us a good couple of months at least," Nina said as she locked the basement door behind her. "I blessed some more water, so we're up two more gallons of holy water, too."
“I just rechecked the windows and doors,” Janis sighed. “I think I’m becoming slightly obsessive compulsive about it. I also called the shop and told them you’re part of the ‘emergency’ I told my own job about. I think we both have a few days.”
"Good, though we've already been locked up in here for three days so far. I hate leaving the shop like this, but going out right now would be suicide. We're safe in here." Nina glanced around the house, her eyes scanning for anything out of place.
Both girls jumped as a loud knock came at the front door. They stayed still, neither daring to breath, waiting. They were used to hearing a ruckus at the door, but not at this hour as it was early evening. It was normally at night the demon came and nailed the neighborhood pets up to their porch. The knock came again, and Nina glanced at Janis. The other nodded, and both girls moved for the door.
Nina gathered up the rocksalt filled shotgun that they always kept behind the door and positioned herself so that, when the door was flung open, she'd have a clear shot. Janis lifted a bucket of holy water with one hand, her arm straining slightly under the weight. Her other hand rested upon the doorknob, and she gave Nina the customary, warning nod before wrenching the door open. Having done this, she blindly threw the contents of the bucket, then ducked behind the door again and waited for gunshots.
"What the hell?" a gruff voice cursed, and Nina's eyes widened.
"Sam? Dean?" She lowered the shotgun slightly, her eyes taking in the two soaking wet men at her doorstep.
Janis blinked at Nina’s query and peeked around her makeshift shield, noting that the rosary that had been dropped in the bucket was now resting amiably on Sam’s shoulder. Both brothers shook their drenched arms and tugged at wet clothes, and in spite of how terrible a reintroduction this was, Janis grinned broadly at the two of them. She shoved the door out of her way, practically flew at the older of the two, and pressed herself shamelessly against him. She was dampened in the process, but this only served to make her mind whirl to dirtier scenarios.
Dean didn’t have time to process what was happening when her lips fell on his. Secretly, he had worried that popping back into Janis’s life would only cause further pain after their departure. It had been almost a year, and surely she would have a boyfriend or fiancé by now. Someone to have taken his place, not that his place was ever that special to begin with. Now, with her tongue demanding his mouth open and accept it, he surmised she was either still single or not worried about adultery. That was completely cool with him, and his arms slipped around her, lifting her deeper into his kiss.
Smiling softly, Nina dropped the shotgun to her side. Neither she nor Sam said much of anything as their eyes said all that needed saying.
"Ahem, Janis? Hun, we need to shut the door, and I can't do that with you standing in it making out." Nina tapped her friend on the shoulder then motioned for Sam to come into the house.
Janis broke away gently, reluctantly, though she remained locked with Dean. “Missed you,” she whispered before dragging him into the house and shutting the door behind them.
“I can see that,” Dean grinned.
“Relieved to see you, too,” she admitted, pushing herself in for another quick kiss.
Sam took in his surrounding with a furrowed brow, smiling softly at what he saw. “Dean…”
His brother glanced up, looking annoyed at the interruption. Then he saw the salt on the windows, the devil’s traps painted overhead, and Sam was holding up the rosary that he’d picked off his shoulder.
“We need to fix the salt at the door,” Janis murmured, glancing down between their legs, then smirking back up at him.
"Ahead of ya." Nina had moved behind them, setting the shotgun back in its place and grabbing the bag of salt, pouring a thick line of it in front of the door.
"Is that shotgun filled with--"
"Rock salt, yeah," Nina answered before Sam could finish. "You don't think we didn't learn anything from our time with you guys?"
Sam smirked. "I can see that you did."
"This place looks like Fort Knox," Dean commented as he glanced around. "That was holy water you hit us with?"
“No, we just douse every, cute guy that shows up at our doorstep with tap water,” Janis teased, receiving a grimace for her trouble. “You would have done the same thing!”
“Meaning… Demons?” Sam asked, glancing from Janis to Nina.
"We're pretty sure. We've had dead animals nailed to our front door for the past three days. We haven't left the house since it started happening." Nina shook her head. "We figured they were trying to leave us a message or warning of some sort since they couldn't get into the house, and killing off the neighborhood pets seemed to be the best way to them."
“Hence the missing pet posters,” Sam murmured with a wince.
“Not to mention the electricity goes crazy every time they show up,” Janis added as she slipped Dean’s jacket off his shoulders and put it on a coat rack to dry. Dean went a step further and pulled his shirt off, which Janis also took from him with a smirk. “We think there might actually be more than one, since we’ve seen people lurking while the hammering is going on.” She ran her hands down her face tiredly. “We haven’t even been able to go outside and bury the things. They’re all in garbage bags in the basement.”
“Let’s get a jump on that,” Dean suggested. “They don’t need to sit down there and smell. Come on…”
Janis knew she could count on Dean to be levelheaded and practical in a situation like this. When she went to his side to follow him into the basement, he pressed a kiss into the top of her head and squeezed her a moment as they walked together. Her arms slipped around his bare waist and gripped him back, a silent thanks for the simple fact that he’d answered their call.
Sam took his jacket off and hung it up near Dean's, though he opted to keep his shirt on. He and Nina followed along behind Janis and Dean down into the basement.
Dean let out a low whistle as they got to the bottom of the staircase. His eyes took in the shelves of canned food, water jugs, bags of salt, and a row of various knives and ammunition.
"We like to stay prepared," Nina told them, stepping past Dean and moving towards the pile of trash bags that they had accumulated. There were three, stacked neatly in an empty corner as far away from the food as they could keep them. Sam stepped forward and took two of them, and Dean broke himself from his awe at their stockpiled resources long enough to take the third.
“The backyard should be pretty cut off from weird looks,” Janis told them as she grabbed two shovels. “There’s a fence, and most everyone near us would be at work. I could help--”
“You girls stay inside,” Sam insisted. “We’ll take care of it.”
"We can't ask you to do that," Nina shook her head.
"You're not. Stay inside. You've dealt with enough." Dean started back up the stairs, leaving no room for argument.
The girls unlocked the patio doors and let the boys into the backyard, handing the shovels off then shutting the door again.
Nina watched as they began to dig, leaning against the door frame. "It's a little weird, seeing them again after so long." She shifted her eyes so she could see Janis.
Janis was watching them with a gentle smile tugging the corners of her mouth. “Best thing that’s happened in days is what it is,” she chuckled. “I was starting to worry they’d not noticed. I should know better…” She glanced back at Nina and laughed again. “Sorry, I know I must seem like a psycho right now. Giggling and bouncing around while they bury an array of neighborhood pets in our backyard.”
"No, you're not. I know you missed Dean. I remember the first few nights back, how sad you were." Nina smiled. "It's nice to see that light back in your eyes again."
Janis snorted derisively at the memory. “I’m sure you were sick of me sniveling and listening to ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ on repeat. Honestly, I didn’t expect to be this glad to see him… I kept thinking he would have changed. Hell, we didn’t even know if they were still alive.” She watched them work and made a face, hissing in air at the sight of Dean’s back moving as he dug. “Damn… This is a nice distraction after how things had been going this week.”
"I wish we could have seen them under different circumstances." Nina turned her eyes back out the window. "I'm going to go fix dinner. I'm sure the boys are hungry." She pushed herself away and started for the kitchen but paused before she entered and turned back to Janis. "Do me a favor and try to keep the screaming to a minimum tonight, huh? I like my sleep." Then she shot Janis a smirk before disappearing into the next room.
To Be Continued...