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chapter eleven:

⤵︎ ⤹
⤷ BUGS ⤶
01 x 08

❝ I PANICKED. WHAT ELSE WOULD I HAVE SUPPOSED TO HAVE SAID? ❞

❝ ANYTHING BUT PLEASE HOLD!? ❞

❏❐❑

AFTER THE Demon incident, the trio had taken a small break from hunting, which lasted around three days. It consisted of going on walks, visiting different town landmarks, and even going shopping ( much to Dean's dismay as he was the one who had to carry all of her bags though secretly he didn't mind as he'd do anything to cheer the woman up ). The brunette had even managed to drag him along to go stargazing with her as it was something she and her dad used to do back when he was still alive.

"And that constellation there is called Orion. It's named after the Greek mythological hunter." She had told him while pointing to a large mass of stars in the coal black sky.

The hunter nodded, taking in all of what she said like it was his lifeline. It wasn't often they spoke to each other about anything other than hunting.

"What about that one there?" Dean questioned while pointing towards the star covered sky. He then turned his head to face her, but Eirene was too busy peering up at the sky. It was beautiful. She was beautiful.

Eirene looked to where he had gestured to and smiled softly before turning back to him. Noticing he was staring at her, she furrowed her brows slightly. "Take a picture it'll last longer, Winchester."

Said man just chuckled. In a way, he wished he could. He wished that this moment would last forever and that this could be their life every day. Forever. The answer to his question broke him out of his thoughts.

"That's the constellation, Taurus. It's actually the seventeenth largest constellation in the sky."

"Hey, how come you know all this?" Dean questioned. It was quite random and not what he expected from his 'friend' when she practically dragged him from the comfort of his motel bed with pleading eyes and a soft smile. How could he say no to that? How could anyone?

"Uh, my dad used to take me out when I was younger. He didn't just teach me about hunting he taught me about the stars, too." When the oldest brother didn't say anything, self ━━ doubt started to fill the woman. "I know, it's stupid."

Dean immediately countered her words. "No, no, it's not stupid at all. It's actually pretty interesting."

"Don't sound too surpised, Winchester."

The rest of the night was one that the pair would never forget. Especially with the fact that just moments after that conversation happened rain began to downpour, absolutely soaking them both to which he'd given Eirene his classic black leather jacket. He'd then said to not say anything to Sam as he didn't want any more 'chick flicks moments'.

IN A dark old bar Sam and Eirene were sat around a small circular table. A newspaper was laying between them as it was held by their hands in the middle so they could both see it. It was about a man named Dustin who had died recently. No doubt due to something supernatural.

Moments later, Dean came over to them laughing and waving a wad of cash in the air with a victorious smile on his face making the two hunters peer around to him.

"You know, we could get day jobs once in a while." Sam spoke while eyeing the rather large amount of money in his brother's ring covered hands.

In response, the man merely shrugged. Why the hell did they need those? "Hunting's our day job. And the pay is crap."

"Uh, we don't get paid at all." Eirene corrected while pointing to him with a knowing look to which Dean gestured to her with wide eyes. She got it.

"Yeah, but hustling pool? Credit card scams? It's not the most honest thing in the world, Dean." The younger brother tried to reason.

"Well, let's see honest." He held out one hand. "Fun and easy." He then held out the other, to gesture that "fun and easy" outweighed "honest" by a long shot. "It's no contest. Besides, we're good at it. It's what we were raised to do."

"Yeah, well, how we were raised was jacked."

The man shrugged once more. "Yeah, says you. We got a new gig or what?"

Sam sighed before reading from the newspaper article he had gotten. "Maybe. Oasis Plains, Oklahoma ━━ not far from here. A gas company employee, Dustin Burwash, supposedly died from Creutzfeldt ━━ Jakob."

A dull look peared across Dean's face. It's clear there was currently nothing going on up there. Though, when was there ever? Eirene found herself thinking

"Huh?"

"Human mad cow disease." The brunette replied in a 'duh' tone.

"Mad cow. Wasn't that on Oprah?" The older brother asked in an inquisitive tone.

This made the younger pair laugh. "You watch Oprah?"

Dean, clearly embarrassed, couldn't think of anything to say so he immediately changed the topic of discussion from Oprah to Dustin. "So this guy eats a bad burger. Why is it our kind of thing?" He asked.

"Mad cow disease causes massive brain degeneration. It takes months, even years, for the damage to appear. But this guy, Dustin? Sounds like his brain disintegrated in about an hour. Maybe less."

"Okay, that's weird." He admitted with a grim expression.

"Yeah." Sam nodded. "Now, it could be a disease. Or it could be somethin' much nastier."

The older brother sighed as they left the walked to the car ( Eirene not very happy about being demoted to back seat passenger once more ). "All right. Oklahoma." The sound of Metallica filled the air. "Man. Work, work, work. No time to spend my money." He complained as he drove away.

THEY PULLED up to a gas and power station just around ten minutes later. The three get out in turn and slam the doors shut, readily approaching the man they assumed to be Travis.

"Travis Weaver?" Eirene questioned as they came closer to the man.

Travis nodded, confirming their suspicions. "Yeah, that's right."

"Are you the Travis who worked with Uncle Dusty?" Dean asked this time round which earned a suspicious look from the older man.

"Dustin never mentioned nephews. He then glanced to Eirene with a skeptical gaze."Or a niece."

Ignoring his hesitcancy, Dean spoke up. It seemed his ability to lie had gotten somewhat better. "Really? Well, he sure mentioned you. He said you were the greatest." He buttered up.

"Yeah." Sam agreed.

With a smile, Travis turned to the three. "Oh, he did? Huh."

"Listen, we wanted to ask you . . . what exactly happened out there?" Eirene questioned while moving slightly closer to the man.

"I'm not sure. He fell in a sinkhole, I went to the truck to get some rope, and, uh... by the time I got back . . ." He trailed off.

"What did you see?" The older brother inquired this time.

Travis shrugged his shoulders, hands firmly placed in the pockets of his jeans. "Nothin'. Just Dustin."

"What? Was there no wounds or anything?" The brunette this time asked. What the hell was going on here?

"Well, he was bleeding . . . from his eyes and his ears, his nose. But that's it."

"So you think it could be this whole mad cow thing?"

Travis shrugged once more. "I don't know. That's what the doctors are sayin'."

"But if it was, he would've acted strange beforehand, like dementia, loss of motor control. You ever notice anything like that?" Sam pointed out to Travis who shook his head vehemently.

"No. No way. But then again, if it wasn't some disease, what the hell was it?" Oh the innocence of not knowing what's really out there. That's a hunters dream.

Dean grinned and pointed at the man in a friendly gesture. "That's a good question."

"You know, can you tell us where this happened?"

"Yeah."

A WHILE later, after being directed by Travis on where to go, Sam, Dean and Eirene arrived at the scene of Dustin's death. The sinkhole was completely surrounded by police tape. A warning sign that not only had something serious happened but for others to not go in. Dean, being his usual self, walked straight over and messed with the tape before turning back to the pair. Eirene simply rolled her eyes and shoved the man somewhat so he nearly fell in. In turn, Dean gave her a warning look which just received a wide grin from the girl.

Composing himself, Dean spoke up. "Huh. What do you think?"

"I don't know. But if that guy, Travis, was right, it happened pretty damn fast." Sam spoke up.

They all ducked under the police tape in unison and look into the hole with a flashlight. What a way to go. Poor guy.

"So, what? Some sort of creature chewed on his brain?" Dean asked, disgusted. What the hell kind of creature would do that?

"No," Sam dennied. "There'd be an entry wound. Sounds like this thing worked from the inside."

Eirene's face scrunched up. "Gross."

"Huh. Looks like there's only room for one." Dean mused. Looks like there was only one way to settle it. Turning the fiery woman besides him, he pulled out a quarter. "You wanna flip a coin?"

Eirene turned to face him and raised her hands in defence. "I'd rather die than go down there. I mean, stay up here or go down the mystery hole? I think I'll choose to stay up here, thanks. Besides," the brunette gestured down to her shoes with her left hand and lifted her leg up for both brothers to see. "these shoes are brand new. I'm not ruining them down there. No way."

This left the older brother confused. "When did you have time to buy a new pair of shoes?" He asked, confusion clear on his face. This woman really did leave him speechless at the best of times. 

"Look, that's besides the point." Sam said, trying to reign the pair in amd regain their attention. "Eirene's right, Dean, we have no idea what's down there."

Dean picked up a nearby coil of rope and waved it in his hands. "All right, I'll go if you're scared. You scared?"

Sam looked to Eirene who just shrugged at him but gave him a small nod. "Flip the damn coin."

The older man chuckled. "All right, call it in the air . . . chicken."

He flipped the coin but Sam caught it in midair with a targeted glare to his brother. "I'm going."

Dean raised his hands and backed away slightly in mock defence. "I said I'd go."

"I'm going."

"All right."

"No protest from me." Eirene muttered with her arms crossed against her chest when Sam looked to her, as though looking to see if she too would try and stop him.

Sam began tying the rope around his waist before peering to the two. "Don't drop me." The younger man warned, not wanting to get stuck down there, rightfully so.

IT TURNS out, in the tunnel were a bunch of dead beetles. May she reiterate, dead beetles. Eirene may be a fearless hunter with little things that scared her. Bugs was one of them. Any kind from spiders, anything that buzzes to anything with a million legs on its body, seriously freaked her out to her core.

Dean had grinned and picked one up out of his brother's hand and pushed it in Eirene's face. The woman had immediately freaked out and backed away. This only resulted in a chase between the pair that lasted a good couple minutes before Sam broke it apart.

"So you found some beetles. In a hole, in the ground. That's shocking, Sam." Dean commented, sarcasm heavily laced in his tone. This didn't sound like anything supernatural to him. Though he often found himself being wrong about that.

Sam sighed at his brothers ignorance before replying. This time, he was in the front as Eirene wanted to be nowhere near him with the bugs. She didnt trust him, or Dean. Well, mainly Dean. "There were no tunnels, no tracks. No evidence of any other kind of creature down there. You know, some beetles do eat meat. Now, it's usually dead meat, but ━━

"━━ How many did you find down there?" The man in the drivers seat interrupted with a raised hand and tired gaze. God, this was so stupid. They could be chasing after something real or being focused on finding their father instead. But no. Sam wanted to focus on beetles which he had literally found in the ground. How annoying.

"Ten." Sam replied simply.

"It'd take a whole lot more than that to eat out some dude's brain." The older brother countered while turning the music up slightly. His usual rock music of choice beginning to blast through the speakers.

The ex college student turned to his best friend behind Dean in the back seat with pleading eyes. She leaned forward and splayed both arms over each side of the seats. "I hate to say it Sam, but I think Dean's right. Finding beetles in the ground certainly isn't anything special. I mean, there's no way ten beetles could've done all that."

"Well, maybe there were more."

"I don't know, it sounds like a stretch to me."

Sam sighed again, feeling rather hopeless and dejected at the fact that neither of the pair believed in him. "Well, we need more information on the area, the neighborhood. Whether something like this has ever happened before."

As they drive through town, they passed a sign for an open house, decorated with red balloons.

"What?" Sam questioned in a confused tone. What was he hinting at?

"I know a good place to start." As they drove past, another sign read, Models Open. New Buyers' BBQ Today! "I'm kinda hungry for a little barbeque, how 'bout you?" Dean suggested while peering to the other two hunters in the car.

Sam only gave him a knowing look.

"What, we can't talk to the locals?" He asked in feign confusion. 

"And you're sure the free food's got nothing to do with it?" Eirene inquired this time while leaning forward for a second time to face him. Anyone that knew Dean Winchester knew that he was a serious food lover. Nothing got in the way of his food. Nothing. And if it was free? Even better.

Dean scoffed with a playful smirk. "Of course not. I'm a professional."

The ex college students glanced towards each other in disbelief. "Right."

And so, they pulled over and get out of the car. They begin walking down the street to the open house.

"Growin' up in a place like this would freak me out."

"How come?" The brunette questioned with a curious gaze. She herself had grown up in a place somewhat similar to this and enjoyed eveey second of it and knew that if Mary hadn't died then this is what the brothers would have experienced. Normality. This is what they deserved.

Dean's face scrunched up. "It's all so normal. Well, manicured lawns, "How was your day, honey?" I'd blow my brains out."

"There's nothing wrong with a little normal." Eirene dismissed with an approving nod from Sam. "Normals nice." She added.

In turn, the older man shrugged, hands in his jean pockets covered by the dark black leather jacket hung loosely over his tall frame. "I'd take our family over normal any day."

They approached the house in silence and knocked on the door sharply. The homeowner answered and pulled the wooden infrastructure open.

A man appeared. "Welcome."

"This the barbeque?" The green eyed man questioned with a small smile.

The man let out a small laugh. "Yeah, not the best weather, but . . . I'm Larry Pike, the developer here. And you are . . . ?" Larry asked, silently hinting for their names.

"Dean." He introduced.  He then pointed to his brother on his left and the female hunter to his right. "This is Sam and Eirene."  In response, Eirene gave a small wave followed by a friendly smile, the jewellery she wore on her wrist collided together slightly creating a slight clink! noise.

"Sam, Dean, Eirene, good to meet you. So, you three are interested in Oasis Plains?" He asked with an interested look, peering from one hunter to the next.

Dean nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Let me just say ━━ we accept homeowners of any race, religion, color, or . . . sexual orientation." Larry spoke, slightly lowering his voice once he reached the end.

Oh.

Eirene put a hand over her mouth in shock. Why did everyone assume the guys were dating? Godamn.

"We're brothers." Dean said in annoyed and grossed out tone. What the hell!?

Larry seemed slightly embarrassed at the admission and at his assumption but said nothing more on the matter, deciding to just move on.

"Our father is getting on in years, and we're just lookin' for a place for him." Sam spoke in an attempt to save the poor man from utter embarrassment.

Larry nodded. "Great, great. Well, seniors are welcome, too. Come on in." He ushered the trio inside and closed the door behind them.

The man took them outside to the backyard where there were lots of people walking around, eating and gossiping about Lord knows what.

Sam turned to the man next to them. "So, you said you were the developer?" He asked in interest.

Larry nodded. "Eighteen months ago, I was walking this valley with my survey team. There was nothing here but scrub brush and squirrels. And you know what, we built such a nice place to live that I actually bought into it myself. This is our house. We're the first family in Oasis Plains."

Larry then walked them over to a woman stood not far from where they were previously. She looked very respectable and was smartly dressed. "This is my wife, Joanie." He introduced with a smile on his face.

The woman, now introduced as Joanie, waved at them which was accompanied by a small grin. "Hey there."

Dean moved forward to shake her hand.

"Hi, nice to meet you." Joanie spoke in a kind tone.

"Sam, Dean and Eirene" Larry introduced each hunter accordingly in the order they were standing in. She then shook the other two's hand in turn.

"Tell them how much you love the place, honey. And lie if you have to because I need to sell some houses." Larry spoke in a teasing tone emitting laughs from them all. Joanie more than the three hunters however.

Larry seemed to be peering at something from afar but didn't say anything on the matter. "Sorry, will you three excuse me?" And with that, the man was off.

Joanie was quick to reassure the three thinking they needed it. "Don't let his salesman routine scare you. This really is a great place to live."

Before any of them could reply, a very energetic woman approached them. Her black hair was pulled back in a tight bun which Eirene was sure was pulling on her skin with each head movement but of course said nothing on the matter.

The woman's gaze was then directed to the trio of hunters. "Hi, I'm Lynda Bloome, head of sales." She introduced.

"And Lynda was second to move in. She's a very noisy neighbor, though." Joanie teased, saying the last part in a short whisper before leaving, presumably to catch up with her husband.

Lynda laughed at the friendly joke shared between them. "She's kidding, of course. I take it you three are interested in becoming homeowners." Lynda then paired this off with suggestive looks towards the two brothers who immediately understood what she was trying to say.

"Well . . ."

"Y ━━ yeah, well . . ."

"Well, let me just say that we accept homeowners of any race, religion, color, or . . . sexual orientation."

Oh god.

Why did everyone assume they were gay? Why couldn't people assume he or Dean were with the only woman stood next to them instead? On second thought nevemind . . . He was sure he'd never recover from the never ending embarrassment and inner turmoil that would fill him and constantly follow him for the rest of his life upon hearing Eirene repeatedly mutter that they're just friends. Nothing more. Though, he supposed, were they even that?

This time, it was Sam who corrected the woman. "We're brothers." He said in an annoyed tone, which only gained a small laugh from Eirene and chuckle from Dean. However, when Lynda looked at them, they both stopped almost immediately and composed themselves.

"Right. Um . . . I'm gonna go talk to Larry." Dean spoke to break the awkward air while looking at Sam, a wicked smirk on his face. "Okay, honey?"

He then began to walk away, but not without smacking Sam on his ass before doing so. The younger brother gave the older one a heated glare in response as he looked to where he was going. Sam, Lynda, and Eirene share a moment of awkward silence at the action, which only made the air more awkward than before. I mean, what do you say to that?

IN AN attempt to ease the tension, Lynda had begun to speak with the pair about the 'endless limitations' that came with each house. "I mean, Who can say "no" to a steam shower?" She asked rhetorically. "I use mine everyday." The ravenette beamed.

Sam and Eirene peered to one another, both just as uninterested as each other. "Really? Well that sounds just great. I mean, who wouldn't want that?" The brunette bemused rather sarcastically but it seemed that Lynda didn't notice as she kept on talking about nothing particularly interesting.

While Lynda continued talking to Eirene, Sam noticed a tarantula crawling towards her hand, which was resting on a table. A few feet away, stood Larry's son, Matt. Said boy was watching a little too excitedly for the hunters liking.

Noticing the spider inch closer to not only Lynda's hand but his friend too, the man quickly swooped in and grabbed the fury animal away from the pair. "Excuse me. Is this yours?" He questioned while walking over to the boy, already knowing the answer.

Matt peered up to Sam and looked a litle nervous as the idea of getting into trouble. "You gonna tell my dad?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't know. Who's your dad?"

Matt scoffed. "Yeah, Larry usually skips me in the family introductions." He sneered in a distasteful tone.

The youngest Winchester winced, knowing how he felt, having a rather rough relationship with his old man himself. "Ouch. First name basis with the old man ━━ sounds pretty grim." He sympathised.

The brunette scoffed once more. "Well, I'm not exactly brochure material."

"Well, hang in there. It gets better, all right? I promise."

"When?" The son asked in what could have been identified as a flicker of hope.

"Matthew." A sudden voice spoke out. They all turnes to see Larry and Dean walking towards them. "I am so sorry about my son and his . . . pet."

The brunette went to say something but Sam held her back by her arm.

"It's no bother." Sam dismissed calmly giving her a small look.

"It bothers me." Eirene muttered quietly next to Sam, quite frankly being freaked out by the furry creature.

"Excuse us." Larry dismissed as he practically dragged his son away.

Sam peered at the two, watching them walk away and waited before they disappeared out of sight before he turned to his brother. "Remind you of somebody?" He asked in a flat tone, clearly hinting at something. Eirene gave him a look as if to say not to start anything. Especially here.

The older brother looked over Sam's shoulder to peer over at Larry, who was now yelling at Matt. He then looked back at Sam with a more than confused expression plastered on his face. "What, you mean Dad?" He questioned incredulously.

Dean shook his head and denied it vehemently. "Dad never treated us like that."

The shaggy haired man sighed but disagreed. "Well, Dad never treated you like that. You were perfect. He was all over my case. You don't remember?"

Dean stood still for a moment, eyes on the ground, occassionally flickering between the father and son duo to his brother. "Well, maybe he had to raise his voice, but sometimes, you were out of line."

Sam scoffed scornfully. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Dean Winchester, ever the perfect little soldier. "Right. Right, like when I said I'd rather play soccer than learn bowhunting."

The older brother shrugged plainly, not seeing the issue in Sam's words. "Bowhunting's an important skill." He defended. I mean, where would soccer get you up against say a vampire or a werewolf. Easy answer, dead.

Sam merely rolled his eyes, not in the mood to play who's right? today.

Eirene glanced between the two, noticing that no more words were going to be said. Looks like Eirene Blackwell was once again the mediator between the two brothers. Fun.

"So, how was the tour?" She questioned with a curious gaze, moving closer to Dean for a response.

"Oh, it was excellent. I'm ready to buy." He replied, humour in his tone to which Sam laughed. "So you might be onto somethin'. Looks like Dustin Burwash wasn't the first strange death around here."

Sam and Eirene shared shocked looks. "Why? What happened?"

The older man sighed before replying. "About a year ago, before they broke ground, one of Larry's surveyors dropped dead while on the job. Get this severe allergic reaction to bee stings."

"More bugs." Sam realised. This was slowly beginning to peice together.

Dean nodded. "More Bugs."

Eirene grimaced. "More bugs." She dreaded.

THEY WERE back in the car now, except Dean had surprisingly let Sam drive. Maybe as a way to clear the air between them during their mini argument or maybe because he simple couldn't be asked for once, which Eirene thought was less than ideal for him as he'd almost never let anyone else drive his precious baby other than himself. Sam and herself were the exception from time to time.

Though he had given his brother a stern point and look while throwing the keys his way as if to say "be careful". The brunette was sure he was talking about his car more so than he was Sam.

While the younger brother brother drove through the neighborhood, Dean was looking through their father's journal ( for about the millionth time since she'd been hunting with the pair ). Though she supposed she couldn't really blame him. John Winchester had hunted pretty much everything and if there was something in the old pages that could help them then Dean would be the one to find it.

"You found anything?" The female hunter asked tentatively. She knew from experience to never interrupt the man while he was flitting through the journal but couldn't help herself.

"Nope. Nada. Nothing on killer beetles that eat your brains."

Eirene grimaced at his rather vivid and quite frankly disgusting description of their case.

Well there goes that potential lead.

Dena shuffled in his seat back to facing the front rather than the brunette to which he had been speaking with just previously. "You know, I've heard of killer bees, but killer beetles? What is it that could make different bugs attack?"

The ex college student sighed, perhaps the hundreth of the day and replied. "Well, hauntings sometimes include bug manifestations." Sam reasoned.

"Yeah, but I didn't see any evidence of ghost activity." Dean denied with a knowing look.

"Yeah, we didnt either." Eirene added. It was true. The duo hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary. The creepiest thing that she'd witnessed was the tarantula that had been way too close to comfort.

"Maybe they're being controlled somehow. You know, by something or someone." Dean proposed.

"You mean, like Willard?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but you know . . . bugs instead of rats."

"Lovely." Eirene muttered under her breath.

Sam thought for a second before mentioning. "There are cases of psychic connections between people and animals ━━ elementals, telepaths."

"Yeah, that whole Timmy ━━ Lassie thing." Dean agreed.

"You know, Larry's kid ━━ he's got bugs for pets. And . . ." Eirene trailed off and swallowed deeply before continuing. "spiders too." The mere word sent a shiver down her spine and she recoiled at the thought of another bug being that close to her. Yeah, never again.

"Matt?" Sam queried.

She nodded. "Yeah."

Sam mulled it over for a second before he too came to the same realisation. "He did try to scare the realtor with a tarantula."

"And he succeeded at that." The blue eyed woman shivered at the memory.

The older man's brows furrowed. What had he missed? He turned to Sam who just mouthed a barely visible "later".

"So," He began, attempting to change the subject of conversation. "You think he's our Willard?"

"I don't know. Anything's possible, I guess." Sam shrugged as best as he could with both heads on the wheel. Luckily with him driving the only sounds that filled the car was the three hunters joint conversation and not the heavy rock music that his older brother loved to listen to incessantly.

No one said anything until Dean randomly stuck a finger up to the window. "Ooh, hey. Pull over here." He commanded.

Sam, clearly confused, pulled into the empty driveway of one of the Oasis Plains homes. "What are we doing here?" He asked.

"It's too late to talk to anybody else." Dean replied while getting out of the car along with Eirene. The sound of the car doors slamming shut reverberated through the small neighbourhood.

"What, we're gonna squat in an empty house?" Eirene grilled with crossed arms and a not too happy expression on her face.

"I wanna try the steam shower." The man admitted with no shame and in an all too excited tone. "Come on."

Neither of the pair moved from their spots on the ground. It seemed at least they were on the same page.

"Come on!" Dean frantically begged them over to the house with his hand in a waving motion.

Sam and Eirene shared tired and annoyed looks, both rather displeased at the situation. However, knowing they had no choice, Sam got back in the car and ( rather reluctantly ), pulled the car into the garage while Eirene closed it. Dean had already run into the house in order to find the bathroom.

"He is such a child." Eirene mused while they walked into the house as well. Sam closed the door behind her as they took another look around the inside. It wad a rather nice house. If only John Winchester really was retiring. This would be the perfect place.

Sam chuckled but didn't deny it. "You're telling me. Try growing up with him."

Eirene laughed at that, imagining a younger Sam and Dean just goofing off and having fun like they should have done as children. As kids. Screw you John Winchester.

From above, they could hear the shower knobs turning around followed by the spray of water on the patented floor. The sound of the man's overjoyed hollers echoed through the whole house.

Yeah they might be here for a while.

THE TRIO of hunters ended up spending the rest of the day / night at the quaint house much to the younger two's chagrin. They'd spent the night reminiscing about their college life and all of the parties that Eirened had dragged a more than unwilling Sam too. They'd even gotten into Dean's car and drove around for a while, finding a shop located only a couple of minutes away to buy some alcohol. When the shop owner had asked them for their IDs the younger brother seemed a little hesitant while Eirene seemed rather flattered that he'd assumed she was under drinking and buying age for alcohol. So now, they were known as Clark and Daisy Summers. Two happy go lucky siblings. A brother and a sister.

The clerk had peered from the IDs to the two a few times before handing over the bagged alcohol.

The rest of their spared time had been spent on the floor down the hall from the bathroom drinking through the bottles that they'd purchased. Dean would most likely complain that he wasn't invited but they couldn't care less. He has his steam shower and they had alcohol.

After a while, a call came in from the scanner. Now, Eirene didn't know police talk but it was pretty clear what had happened. A woman had been found dead.

The pair locked eyes before shooting up and racing towards the door.

Sam reached the bathroom door first, where the shower can be heard running still. He knocked with the back of his hand lightly. "You ever comin' out of there?"

"What?"

Eirene had now joined the man with the bagged alcohol clinking together from the frantic movement. "Dean, a police call came in on the scanner." She said more urgently than Sam had.

"Hold on." Dean spoke though they could barely hear them from the sound of water and the curtain opening and closing.

"Someone was found dead three blocks from here. Come on." Sam urged this time.

Eirene was about to knock ( more like bang ) on the bathroom door but before she could it opened. Dean was standing there, in the steam ━━ filled room, with a towel on his head.

"This shower is awesome." He gushed with a wide smile.

The brunette waved some of the steam that wafted her way due to the open door. "Jesus. It's like a sauna in here." She frowned.

"I know right! Isn't it amazing?"

Eirene raised her eyebrows in a condescending way while Sam rolled his eyes. "Come on." He beckoned while walkng away.

The green eyed man gestured to the incredible shower once more with both hands to which Eirene scoffed and followed after Sam. This immediately wiped the smirk off pf his face.

What was their problem?

THE THREE pull up out of the house and get our of the car. They approached Larry, who was finishing talking to someone on the phone. The three stood a little afar and watched as a body was carried out past them in a body bag on a stretcher.

Larry noticed the three and nervously walked over to them, no doubt as flittish as he seemed. "Hello. You're all, uh, back early."

Dean nodded with a grim expression on his face. "Yeah, we just drove in, wanted to take another look at the neighborhood."

Sam took the silence to ask the long awaiting question. "What's goin' on?"

The older man turned to them. "You guys met, uh . . . Lynda Bloome at the barbeque?"

Eirene's eyes widened. "Wait, the realtor?" She asked for confirmation.

Larry confirmed her suspicions with a sad nod. "Well, she, uh . . . passed away last night."

"Passed away?" She questioned once more. More like murdered.

"What happened?"

"I'm still tryin' to find out. Identified the body for the police. Look, I ━━ I'm sorry, this isn't a good time now." Larry sighed as he gave them all a sympathetic look.

Sam was quick to dismiss the man. "It's okay."

"Excuse me." He dismissed while walking away.

"You know what we have to do, right?" The older brother questioned. Both hunters nodded, one more reluctant than the other. I think you can guess who.

"Yeah. Get in that house." Sam said aloud.

Dean nodded. "See if we got a bug problem."

Both brothers looked sure of what they had to do while Eirene grimaced.

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that." She said with a defeated look plastered on her tanned features.

A FEW minutes later, they had managed climbed over the fence, up the side of the house, and through Lynda's bedroom window. Dean had constantly insisted that he help the woman up but after a harsh whack on the head and a near kick where the sun most definitely doesn't shine, he was more than happy to let the brunette climb over by herself. What could he say? He was a feminist.

INSIDE OF Lynda's house the trio stood by the drawing of her dead body on the carpet where she died.

"This looks like the place." Dean commented.

They all walked over to another part of the room. Dean picked up a towel but immediately dropped it when he noticed it was covered in dead spiders. From afar, Eirene's eyes widened as she pushed Sam in front of her. "Spiders. From Spider Boy?"

"Matt ━━ maybe." Sam agreed, still being maneuvered by his friend. Her hands not leaving his shoulders as she peeked cautiously over his tall frame.

IN THE end, Eirene suggested that they follow Matt. After all, they had piqued the suspicion of all three hunters.

Dean pulled up at the curb and they watched as, across the street, Matt got off a school bus and began to walk in the other direction they expected him to.

"Isn't his house that way?" Dean spoke as he pointed in the opposite direction.

"Yup." Sam nodded.

The other brother's brows furrowed. "So where's he goin'?"

Eirene leaned forward from behind where she was sitting at the back. "Looks like we should go find out."

They all agreed silently on the plan and got out of the car in turn. It wasn't a long walk through the woods until they eventually caught up to him sitting down and examining a grasshopper. Eirene recoiled slightly. Any and all bugs were off the table to her. Including grasshoppers.

The got closer before Sam spoke up. "Hey, Matt. Remember me?"

Matt turned around only to be met with the faces of the three hunters. "What are you doin' out here?" He asked accusatorily.

"Well, we wanna talk to you." Dean replied simply.

Matt looked between the three wearily. "You're not here to buy a house, are you?"

Dean shook his head.

Matt's eyes widended considerably at a thought he had. "W ━━ wait. You're not serial killers?"

All of them let out a laugh at the accusation.

"No, we're not. Though if we were we wouldnt tell you bug boy." Eirene teased with a coy grin.

"So, Matt . . . you sure know a lot about insects." Dean prodded but he said it in an all too casual tone. As though he was asking a friend how they were.

"Yeah, a weird amount." The brunette woman accused with folded arms and narrowed arms.

Matt recoiled slightly at the accusatory gaze being sent his way but didn't deny it. "So?"

"Did you hear what happened to Lynda, the realtor?"

The boy shrugged. "I heard she died this morning."

The green eyed hunter nodded. "Mm, that's right. Spider bites."

Sam walked a little closer to the boy. "Matt . . . you tried to scare her with a spider."

Matt slowly began to piece together what they were saying. "Wait. You think I had something to do with that?"

"You tell us." Dean answered.

Matt scoffed. "That tarantula was a joke. Anyway, that wouldn't explain the bee attack or the gas company guy." He reasoned.

"Okay, hang on, you know about those?" Eirene interrogated.

Matt ignored her words as he spoke up once more. "There is somethin' going on here. I don't know what . . . but something's happening with the insects. Let me show you something."

He then picked up his backpack and begins walking with them to another area.

"So, if you knew about all this bug stuff, why not tell your dad? Maybe he could clear everybody out." Sam said as he watched the boy.

Matt exhaled tiredly. "Believe me, I've tried. But, uh, Larry doesn't listen to me."

"Why not?"

"Mostly?" Matt began. "He's too disappointed in his freak son."

Sam scoffed. "I hear you." All his life ( well, the part without his mother at least ) was filled with memories of hunting and his dad teaching him how to handle a gun etc. He never knew normal and so moving from school to school at such a young age sort of made him the new kid. The freak as some would say. While his brother would settle in easy as pie, Sam always had a more difficult time adjusting. This only got worse the older they grew. They'd often have fights about this. Which usually resulted in Sam leaving whatever dingy motel room they were staying in that time for an hour or two. His phone would buzz incessantly with missed calls, voicemails and messages from both his father and Dean yet they woukd remain ignored.

This kind of lifestyle was all the youngest Winchester family member knew until one day he decided to just up and leave ( arguably the best decision he had ever made as it led him to his girlfriend, best friend and future life ). Though with how two of those things were now gone, he didn't think he could take losing the third.

"You do?"

San turned and gave his older brother a confused look. How could he not know what he was talking about.

Sam turned to the boy. "Matt, how old are you?" He questioned.

"Sixteen." Matt replied apprehensively.

"Well, don't sweat it, because in two years, something great's gonna happen."

The boy looked puzzled. "What?"

"College." Sam replied. "You'll be able to get out of that house and away from your dad. Start a new life."

"Yeah." Eirene nudged his shoulder playfully. "Maybe even get a girlfriend. Or boyfriend, I don't judge." She added with her hands raised in faux surrender.

Dean scoffed at his younger brothers words. "What kind of advice is that? Kid should stick with his family."

Sam sighed and glared at him yet said nothing.

The brunette glanced between the brothers, noticing the tension slowly beginning to rise once more. "How much further, Matt?" She asked hopefully. The ground of the forest wad slightly damp leaving for mud to collect on the bottom of her shoes. She was really beginning to think these were her unlucky pair.

"We're close." The boy reassured while peering backwards to her.

Sam glared at Dean one more time before he, too, continued walking. A few moments later, they reached a large clearing. The sounds of hundreds of different insects could be heard among the trees. It was definitely very eerie.

"I've been keeping track of insect populations. It's, um, part of an AP science class."

Dean snickered lightly. "You two are like peas in a pod."

Eirene sent a glare his way before slapping upside the back of his head once more. The man let out a pained groan and rubbed the back of his skull regretfully.

"So, what's been happening?" Sam asked, looking ahead of him instead of at his brother and best friend to avoid letting out a laugh at their encounter. They really were perfect for each other.

"A lot. I mean, from bees to earthworms, beetles. . . you name it. It's like they're congregating here."

The brunette felt a shiver go down her spine at the boys words. As mentioned previously, bugs were not her thing.

"Why?"

"I don't know." Matt shrugged.

"What's that?" Sam asked as he pointed to a dark patch of grass a few feet away. Curious, they all walked over to it and look down only to discover hundreds of worms.

Eirene gasped and shuffled back slightly. Worms didn't freak her out. They were just gross.

So, before she could even begin to protest, Dean lifted his foot up and then down only to step on some of them. The quartet all watched as they fell into the ground, creating a hole. The man crouched down and used a stick to poke around in the hole.

After a few seconds, he looked up to the three faces peering down at him curiously. "There's somethin' down there." He confirmed.

He put the stick down and put his hand into the hole.

Eirene and Sam grimaced before shuffling back together this time. The brunette also grabbed Matt's arm with her. Not wanting him to be near if something horrid came out of the ground. Especially if they had to make a run for it. Sorry Dean, but if it was her life, Sam's and Matt's against his? Then she'd choose them.

However, moments later after rooting deep in the hole, his face contorted into that of disgust as he felt something inside the hole. Slowly, he brought his hand back up, and the three boys and one girl looked utterly horrified. As for in the green eyed man's hand, covered in dirt and worms, was a human skull.

THIS TIME they pull up outside the local university and get out of the car. They take the box of bones out from the backseat and head towards the building.

"So, a bunch of skeletons in an unmarked grave." Sam began.

Yeah. Maybe this is a haunting. Pissed off spirits? Some unfinished business?" Dean theorised.

"Yeah, maybe. Question is, why bugs? And why now?" Sam asked.

Eirene bit her tongue in order to refrain herself from saying what she wanted to say. Though it seemed that Dean didn't seem to care at all and said her thoughts aloud.

"Well, that's two questions." He said in a snide tone.

Sam just ignored him and continued walking, box in hand.

"Yeah, so with that kid back there . . . why'd you tell him to just ditch his family like that?" Dean questioned incredulously, not understanding his brother one bit.

The younger man stayed silent before finally chosing to speak up. "Just, uh . . . I know what the kid's goin' through."

"How 'bout tellin' him to respect his old man, how's that for advice?" Dean sneered.

"Dean, come on." Sam stopped walking and so did the other two. While the brothers continued to dispute, the brunette hunter moved away from the duo, not wanting to get roped into another one of their disagreements and have to pick sides.

After a couple of minutes she noticed that they'd clearly finished and had begun to walk towards her. While Sam stopped by her Dean continued to walk inside the college, not wanting to talk.

Eirene reached her hand up to his arm and rubbed it soothingly up and down in a friendly manner. She and Dean may not always be on the same page but she'd always want to make sure her best friend was more than okay.

"You alright?" She queried in a soft tone, her blue eyes staring into his brown ones with nothing but pure care behind them.

"You know, when we were at Stanford, my dad used to drive down there. To check up on me. To make sure I was safe." He spoke in a disheveled tone while looking at the ground. In conflict. A war going on in his mind.

"Really?" She asked for confirmation, shocked.

Sam nodded.

"Well, I have to hand it to him, that was pretty good of him to do."

"Yeah . . . It was."

INSIDE THE college classroom, the hunter trio were talking with the professor.

"So, you three are students?" He questioned.

While Dean looked like a deer in headlights Sam and Eirene appeared relatively calm. "Yeah. Yeah, uh, we're in your class." The younger brother began.

"Yeah, hes right. Athro 101, remember?" The woman hinted as a way to jog his memory. Of course they weren't actually in his class. But the professor sure seemed to think so.

"Oh, yeah." He noted.

"So, what about the bones, Professor?"

The man cleared his throat as he began his amswer. "This is quite an interesting find you've made. I'd say they're 170 years old, give or take. The timeframe and the geography heavily suggest Native American."

"Were there any tribes or reservations on that land?" Sam asked.

The college professor shook his head. "Not according to the historical record. But the, uh, relocation of native peoples was quite common at that time."

This time Eirene spoke up. Taling her go at the questioning. "Right. Are there any local legends? Oral histories about the area?"

"Well . . . you know, there's a Euchee tribe in Sapulpa. It's about sixty miles from here. Someone out there might know the truth." The man supplied.

The three exchanged knowing glances, all coming to the same conclusion of what they'd have to do.

AFTER STOPPING and asking a man for some directions, the trio drive off to where he had pointed them to go. They'd landed at a rather quaint looking diner where they were looking for a specific man.

"Hey," Eirene tapped Dean on the shoulder, directing his gaze to where she was looking. "Isn't that him over there?"

"Only one way to find out." Dean replies as they slowly walk to where the man was sat at a table playing cards.

"Joe White Tree?" Sam inquired to which the man nodded shortly.

"We'd like to ask you a few questions, if that's all right." He continued.

"We're students from the university." The green eyed man spoke this time.

Joe sighed, not taking his eyes off the cards spread out on the table. "No, you're not. You're lying."

Dean was taken aback. Nobody ever called them out before. What the hell !?

"Well, truth is ━━"

The Native American man spoke again, interrupting Dean. "━━ You know who starts sentence with "truth is"? Liars." He peered up at the end of his sentence and looked the trio ( though mainly Dean ) directly in the eyes as he spoke.

Dean nervously exchanged a look with Sam. The most friendly exchange between them since their mini argument.

The two younger hunters had a silent conversation on who would speak first though it ended when Sam asked the man what they'd been meaning to ask him. "Have you heard of Oasis Plains? It's a housing development near the Atoka Valley."

Joe turned to Dean with a soft smirj. "I like him. He's not a liar."

Dean just looked angry, fists clenching at his sides. Eirene gripped his left hand in hers to prevent him from doing stupid. The last thing they needed was for him to get all of them in trouble.

"I know the area." Joe added as he peered away from Dean to Sam and Eirene.

"What can you tell us about the history there?" Eirene beseeched.

Joe turned defensive. "Why do you wanna know?"

"Something . . . something bad is happening in Oasis Plains. We think it might have something to do with some old bones we found down there ━━ Native American bones." Sam tried to explain. It sounded even more crazy when you said it aloud.

"I'll tell you what my grandfather told me, what his grandfather told him. Two hundred years ago, a band of my ancestors lived in that valley. One day, the American cavalry came to relocate them. They were resistant, the cavalry impatient. As my grandfather put it, on the night the moon and the sun share the sky as equals, the cavalry first raided our village. They murdered, raped. The next day, the cavalry came again, and the next, and the next. And on the sixth night, the cavalry came one last time. And by the time the sun rose, every man, woman, and child still in the village was dead. They say on the sixth night, as the chief of the village lay dying, he whispered to the heavens that no white man would ever tarnish this land again. Nature would rise up and protect the valley. And it would bring as many days of misery and death to the white man as the cavalry had brought upon his people."

"Insects. Sounds like nature to me." Dean retorted.

Joe ignored him. "And on the night of the sixth day, none would survive." He finished ominously.

"WHEN DID the gas company man die?" Sam posed.

"Uh, let's see, we got here Tuesday, so, Friday the twentieth." Dean recalled as they exited the diner.

"March twentieth?" He reiterated.

Dean nodded.

"That's the spring equinox." The shaggy haired man acknowledged.

"The night the sun and the moon share the sky as equals." Dean added.

While Eirene was surprised he knew that, she chose to say nothing as she knew it would only waste time. And time was inherently the one thing they didn't have much of.

"So, every year about this time, anybody in Oasis Plains is in danger. Larry built this neighborhood on cursed land." The younger brother stated grimly.

Eirene's face visibly paled. "And on the sixth night ━━ that's tonight."

Continuing on his friends train of thought, Sam continued. A wretched realisation washing over him like a tidal wave. "If we don't do something, Larry's family will be dead by sunrise. So how do we break the curse?"

Dean shook his head. "You don't break a curse. You get out of its way. We've gotta get those people out now."

While Sam looked rather reluctant, Eirene couldn't agree more. This case was unnerving and she wanted nothing more than to help Larry and his family get out of this god forsaken town.

DEAN WAS driving while Eirene was in the baxk talking on the phone with Larry. She'd heavily dismissed Dean's proposal of driving while talking on the phone. She didn't fancy dying in a car accident today. No thank you.

"Yes, Mr. Pike, there's a mainline gas leak in your neighborhood."

Larry's face turned ashen as he halted in his steps. This was just what he needed. "God, really? And how big?"

Eirene paused for a moment. How big could these things be? "Well, it's fairly extensive. I don't want to alarm you, but we need you and your family out of the vicinity for at least twelve hours or so, just to be safe."

"And who is this, again?" Larry questioned skeptically.

"Lucy Hayworth." Eirene countered immediately using the first name that came to mind. "I work for Oklahoma Gas and Power."

Larry frowned having caught the unsuspecting woman in her lie. "Uh ━━ huh. Well, the problem is, I don't know a Lucy Hayworth. So, who is this?"

Eirene froze. "Uh . . . please hold." She immediately ended the call and dropped the phone on to her lap.

Dean gave her an annoyed look through the rearview mirror. "Really?"

The brunette winced. "I panicked. What would I was supposed to have said?"

"Anything but please hold!" The man chastised.

"Well I would've liked to see you try." Eirene tried to defend herself.

"I wanted to but you said no!"

"Oh wow. Now you're just acting childish." She snapped with a glare.

Sam groaned at the pair's bickering. "Give me the phone." He demanded to which his friend passed him the device forward from her lap scornfully.

He took the phone and dialed a number. She was just about to ask who he'd called but before she could the voice of Matt could be heard over the phone.

"Hello?"

"Matt, it's Sam."

"Sam, my backyard is crawling with cockroaches."

"Matt, just listen. You have to get your family out of that house right now, okay?" Sam urged as he tried to convince the boy.

Matt was confused. What was he talking about "What, why?"

"Because something's coming." He replied.

"More bugs?" Matt guessed.

Sam nodded though knowing Matt couldnt see him he gave him a verbal reponse. "Yeah, a lot more."

The boy sighed. "My dad doesn't listen in the best of circumstances, what am I supposed to tell him?"

"You've gotta make him listen, okay?" Sam urged once more, desperate to get the family out.

Dean reached an arm back with his eyes still on the road. "Give me the phone, give me the phone!" He grabbed the phone from Sam. "Matt, under no circumstances are you to tell the truth, they'll just think you're nuts."

Now the poor boy was even more confused by being told to do two different things. "But he's my ━━"

"━━ Tell him you have a sharp pain in your right side and you've gotta go to the hospital, okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, okay." He slowly agreed.

He hung up, and so did Dean.

"Make him listen? What are you thinkin'?" Dean bellowed.

Eirene sighed once again. This was going to be an uncomfortable car ride.

A WHILE later, they pulled up outside Larry's house. Larry peered out the window and, seeing their car, went outside.

Dean groaned in annoyance. Why couldn't anyone just listen to them for once? "Damn it, they're still here. Come on." He gestured for the other fwo hunters to get out as well.
"Get off my property before I call the cops." The older man threatened in a sharp tone, not looking to mess around.

"Mr. Pike, listen." Eirene started with a sympathetic gaze.

"Dad, they're just tryin' to help." Matt defended harshly.

Larry pinched his nose in frustration. "Get in the house!"

"I'm sorry. I told him the truth." Matt admitted guiltily.

"We had a plan, Matt, what happened to the plan?"

"This is why we dint make plans! No one ever listens to the plans and they always end up going wrong." Eirene scolded the man while he just waved her off.

"Look, it's 12:00 AM. They are coming any minute now. You need to get your family and go, before it's too late."

"Yeah, you mean before the biblical swarm." Larry dismissed tautingly. Man, why did no one ever just believe them? It woukd save a hell of a lot of time.

"Larry, what do you think really happened to that realtor, huh? And the gas company guy? You don't think somethin' weird's goin' on here?" Dean edged.

Larry shook his head. "Look, I don't know who you are, but you're crazy. You come near my boy or my family again, and we're gonna have a problem."

"Well, I hate to be a downer, but we've got a problem right now." The older brother brought up.

"Dad, they're right, okay? We're in danger." Matt tried once more.

"Matt, get inside! Now!"

"No! Why won't you listen to me !?"

Larry gripped the sides of his head in anguish. "Because this is crazy! It doesn't make any sense!"

"Look, this land is cursed! People have died here. Now, are you gonna really take that risk with your family?" Sam insisted with determination that the other two had never heard before.

"Wait." Dean shouted out loud to gain the bickering duos attention as well as Eirene and Matt's. Everyone went silent. "You hear that?"

From somewhere nearby, a very loud buzzing noise could be heard. It only continued to get louder and louder as the seconds ticked by.

Larry furrowed his brows. "What the hell?"

The fluorescent bug light on the porch behind them then began to overheat, killing several bugs at a time.

"All right, it's time to go. Larry, get your wife." Dean urged.

"Uh . . . guys." Matt's feeble voice sounded out from behind them.

Slowly, all of them look up to the sky only for their stomachs to be filled with a bucket full of dread. For coming their way, were millions of bugs blanketing the sky in an even darker shade of black.

Larry looked ready to pass out from the shock and horror of it all. "Oh my God."

"We'll never make it." Sam confessed with wide eyes.

"Everybody in the house. Everybody in the house, go!" The green eyed man grabbed the brunettes hand just like she'd took his earlier and dragged her behind him noticing she'd merely become stuck to the ground in fear. This was the first time he'd ever seen the ever so brave and formidable woman so paralysed with fear. And oh how he hated it.

They were all quick to rush inside the house and lock the door though even that was of course not enough to keep out all of those bugs. They were done for.

Sam tried to collect himself as he looked Larry deep in the eyes. "Okay, is there anybody else in the neighborhood?"

"No, it's just us."

Before another word could be uttered, Larry's wife, Joanie, entered the room. "Honey, what's happening? What's that noise?" She questioned but nobody answered as Larry immediately instructed her to call 911. However, she didn't move.

"Joanie!" He repeated, louder this time.

Joanie nodded. "Okay."

She picked up the phone and dialled the three digit number.

"We need some towels." Dean spoke up as he turned to Larry.

"Uh, in the closet." He pointed to a set of doors not too far from where they were standing and Dean and Eirene worked on grabbing a few from inside while she knelt down on the floor and started layering them by the base of the door to prevent and of the bugs from flying underneath.

Sam turned to Matt. "Okay, we've gotta lock this place up, come on ━━ doors, windows, fireplace, everything, okay?"

They all went upstairs while the brunette was still working on covering up any gaps on the ground floor.

"The phones are dead." Joanie stammered with a mortified look on her face.

Dean internally cursed. "They must have chewed through the phone lines."

He then begins putting towels at the base of the window when the power also went out. He peered upwards at the ceiling which was no longer lit up. "And the power lines."

Larry paced frantically. "I need my cell." He picked up his phone only to be disappointed at what showed on his screen. "No signal."

Dean shook his head. "You won't get one. They're blanketing the house."

The sound of footsteps hurriedly rushing up the stairs could be heard echoing through the house, only for the door to open and reveal Eirene who had a multitude of spare towels in her arms. She then kicked the door shut with her left foot, passed the towels to Dean and locked it.

"Thought we could use some extra. Just in case." She muttered sheepishly while beginning to take some back and layer the door with them.

Suddenly, millions of bugs began to collect on the doors and windows, covering the entire building. The six of them watch in horror, waiting.

Larry turned to the three stood behind him. "So what do we do now?"

"We try to outlast it. Hopefully, the curse will end at sunrise."

Larry looked aghast. "Hopefully?"

Eirened nodded. "Hopefully."

The door opened once more to reveal none other than Dean with a can of bug spray.

"Bug spray?" Joanie questioned confusedly.

"Trust me."

A creaking noise suddenly emanated from somewhere around the fireplace.

"What is that?" Matt asked wearily.

"The flue." Sam responded quietly.

"All right," Dean paused before continuing. "I think everybody needs to get upstairs."

"We're already upstairs!" Eirene pointed out while gesturing to the room around them.

"Even more upstairs. To the attic!" He replied in a haste.

Almost straight after he'd said that, however, hundreds of thousands of bugs come into the living room, swarming all around them. They all screamed all while trying to protect themselves. Dean used a lighter that he had in his pocket with the can of bug spray he'd gotten from the kitchen to make it flare up. The flame warded some of the bugs away in a hurry as a path was made for them the wapk through.

"All right, everybody to the attic! Now! Go, go, go!"

They all opened the door and ran up to the attic while Sam closed the door. After a moment of being in the attic, sawdust began to fall from the ceiling. The buzz of bees getting increasingly louder.

"Oh, God, what's that?" Joanie whispered.

"What do you think!? Somethings trying to eat through the wood. And it's doing a rather good job at it!" Eirene cried as she backed away slightly. This was honestly one of her worst fears. Being trapped in a house full of bugs. She thought she might just pass out right then and there.

"Termites." Matt stated.

"Termites!? Oh well that's just fantastic!"

"All right, everybody get back. Get back, get back, get back!"

The three Pikes along with Eirene move as far into the corner of the attic as they can. Just mere seconds later, the bugs chewed a large hole through the ceiling and swarm around the room. The brothers tried frantically to patch up the hole in the ceiling, but this only worked for a minute. Soon, two more holes were chewed by the incessant little bugs, and while Dean tried to ward them off with the bug spray and lighter, nothing seemed to work. The six of them stand in the corner, trying desperately to swat the bugs away for a few minutes.

"Oh god!" Eirene wailed while trying to simultaneously swat the flies away, prevent herself from being stung and cover her ears and mouth.

Then, after a couple of hellish minutes, the sun rises. Miraculously, the bugs began to leave through the hole in the ceiling.

Confused, Sam and Dean go to see what happened. Through the hole, they noticed that the bugs were in the sky, near the sun, in one enormous colony. The six of them continue watching, relieved that this nightmare was over.

DEAN, SAM and Eirene approached Larry, who was placing boxes into a moving van.

"What, no goodbye?" Dean joked with a knowing smirk.

"Good timing. Another hour and we'd have been gone." He spoke solemnly.

He then moved to shake their hands in turn.

"For good?"

Larry nodded his head to signify a yes. "Yeah. The development's been put on hold while the government investigates those bones you found. But I'm gonna make damn sure no one lives here again."

"You don't seem too upset about it." Eirene countered.

"Well, this has been the biggest financial disaster of my career, but . . ." He paused while looking over to his son who was carrying a box the trash . . . somehow, I really don't care."

They shared a smile. Sam walked over to Matt while Dean and Eirene waited for him by the impala.

"So, bugs really freak you out huh?" Dean mocked with a coy grin and his hands in his leather jacket.

Eirene frowned while raising her hand threateningly. "Dean Winchester, I will hit you again."

He immediately hacked down. "Noted." He replied sheepishly but a hint of a smile was on his face.

The duo talked for a few minutes more before Sam joined them by the car. They were all stood watching Larry and Matt, who were now getting along better than ever. You probably wouldn't have been able to tell they had issues before.

"I wanna find Dad." The wannabe lawyer admitted, feeling as though a heavy weight had just been lifted off of his chest at those four words.

"Yeah, me too." The older brother added.

"Yeah, but I just . . . I want to apologize to him." Sam continued with a sorrowful yet determined look.

"For what?"

"All the things I said to him. He was just doin' the best he could." Sam resumed.

Dean clapped a hand on his back comfortingly. "Well, don't worry, we'll find him. And then you'll apologize. And then within five minutes, you guys will be at each other's throats."

Sam laughed at that. "Yeah, probably."

"Oh god. I am so not looking forward to having to break up even more fights between you guys. Just you two is enough." Eirene complained as she thought about all the future arguments to come.

"Don't worry, I'll try and keep it to a minimum." Sam reassured his best friend before walking around to his side of the car and got in, but not before giving the father and son duo one last goodbye.

Eirene chuckled as she too got in the car, sitting behind him. "Yeah? You better keep that promise Winchester."

"I will" He confirmed to which they both couldn't contain their smiles.

This case was a difficult one, bit hopefully the next one wouldn't be as horrifying.

ODI SPEAKS ! ━━━━ SO, I finally published the next chapter after 3 months !! Tysm for anyone who is still here and committed to this book. I appreciate every single one of you.

I hope this was worth the wait. The next chapter will be based on the episode 'Home' where we'll see the lovely and talented Missouri. I just love when she scolds Dean lmao.