Chapter Three

‘thoughts’

Glancing around him as he strode down the darkened hallway of the hospital basement on his way to the morgue, Sam wondered once again why it was that morgues were always dark or had dim lighting. It was depressing to say the least and downright spooky most of the time. Shrugging and hugging his coat tighter as he shivered, he stopped as he arrived at the office of the morgue and smirked as he noted the lack of attendants. Silently, he slipped past the office and went into the main hall, heading for the examination room. He heard voices inside the room and stopped, pressing against the wall next to the door to avoid detection as he listened to the conversation inside.

“…almost is like a cult or something was trying to do a ritual sacrifice. It’s obvious she’d had sex, but there were no signs of it being forced. It’s basically like she’d had some kinky sex that went wrong…but the symbols are what are throwing me off. They look almost…runic, like Norse or something. But what they mean I couldn’t tell ya…”

Sam frowned in thought as the other voice inquired into the time of death and any telltale marks that would lead to the murderer. ‘Runes…there were runes on that mirror that Dean fell through. I wonder if his falling in it caused some kind of curse to be activated. And if so…what…’ he wondered, but then pressed back into the shadows as the two men that had been inside the room left, still discussing the results. He waited until they had gone through the door, then went inside and locked the door behind him before grabbing some gloves and looking for the corpse.

He found it after a bit of searching and pulled the tray out, grimacing as he saw the body. But he pushed away his distaste and rolled the sheet down to examine her. He stopped as he saw the runes, recognizing a fourth of them, while the others were familiar, yet were just eluding him. There were several symbols carved into her breasts, stomach, and thighs in an obvious pattern, almost like they were indeed sending a message. He nearly gagged as he saw what remained of her groin and noted that her eyes had also been carved out, symbols themselves of whatever message was being said. ‘Blinding her and then defaming her lower body…what does it mean though?’ he thought in concern before looking around for a piece of paper and a pen. He found what he was looking for and copied down the symbols and made a couple of other notes before covering the body with the sheet and pushing it back into its berth. He unlocked the door and looked down the hall. He smirked as he saw the stairwell and headed in that direction, thankful for another escape route that would aid in his continued concealment.

Going up the stairs two at a time, he decided to make a pit stop and visit Dean to see what he might think on the symbols. His brother could act like he didn’t get things most of the time, but in truth he was very intelligent and keen on a lot of things most people wouldn’t pick up on. He peeked out as he got to the right floor and sighed in relief when he saw no one was around at the moment, so he stepped out and went to his brother’s room, knocking on the frame as he went in.

Glancing over, Dean smiled wanly at Sam. “Hey…whatcha doin’ here?” he asked tiredly and Sam smiled sympathetically as he sat down in the chair that he pulled over.

“Investigating that murder. How are you feeling?” Sam asked in return as he leaned his chin on the back of the chair while looping his arms around the chair back.

“Tired…they’re dopin’ me up somethin’ fierce. Kinda annoyin’, but understandable,” Dean replied as he let his head roll on the pillow so he could look directly at his brother. “What’d ya find?”

“Quite a lot, but it’s still kinda vague. This girl was carved into with a bunch of different runes, I’m guessing either Norse or old Celt, and her eyes and groin were cut up badly, as if as a message. I’m just not sure what the message is or what she had done,” Sam explained before showing Dean the paper with the symbols on it.

Humming softly to himself as he studied the runes, Dean frowned darkly. “I recognize some of these. This one, Raidho, is reversed so it means death and this one is Thurisaz, which means betrayal when reversed…” he murmured as he pointed to two of the symbols. “And you’re right…I think it’s old Norse, like before the New Age crap they got goin’ around nowadays,” he added before handing the paper back. “Think it might happen again?” he asked as he sat back and studied his brother.

“Not sure…I think so. This is almost like a message that things are just starting,” Sam responded softly while looking at the symbols again before looking up at his brother. He flashed a half grin and shrugged. “Don’t worry…I’ll look into it some more,” he stated.

“M’not worried…” Dean muttered grumpily, which was a sure sign that he was *indeed* worried. He shifted on his bed and sighed. “Need to get *out* of here,” he growled as he glared at the IV in his wrist.

“Tomorrow Dean…promise,” Sam said before patting his brother on the hand. He gripped Dean’s hand, which curled around his own as they locked eyes. “You just rest and get better, ok? I need you next to me. Can’t do this alone, big brother,” he declared softly and a flash of a grin went over Dean’s face.

“Back at ya, little brother…back at ya. You be careful, ya hear?” Dean reminded Sam before letting Sam’s larger hand go. He acted like it was nothing to be so touchy feely, which should have made Sam wonder, but he didn’t.

Instead, he sat back and stood up gracefully, smiling widely at his brother. “Now when have I ever *not* been careful?” he retorted and Dean snorted.

“Do you *really* want me to reply to that?” Dean asked sarcastically and Sam laughed before saluting his brother and heading out. “And go get laid!” Dean shouted in parting, which nearly caused Sam to run into the door. Grinning unrepentedly under the hot glare that was shot at him, he shrugged innocently. “Wha? It’s a good idea.”

“Very funny, Dean. Get some sleep,” Sam responded acerbically before leaving, shutting the door behind him. A grin split his face though at what had happened. Dean was getting back to his old self that was for sure. He waved to the nurse as he passed by her desk and ignored the look of surprise she shot him while continuing outside. Next stop…the library.

*~*~*

Scowling as he watched the corner where the male prostitutes were waiting for business, Dean sighed inwardly and flipped his jacket collar up to ward off the cool breeze. He’d done some research into the local big businesses there and had come across a man that seemed to be doing some rather suspicious transactions that anyone who really looked could have found. It was all the classic signs of someone embezzling. But what had really gotten his interest had been the multiple charges by a Divas Inc within the past six months.  Upon further investigation, he’d discovered that Divas Inc was basically a whore house…a male whore house.

Smirking as he finally caught sight of his victim, Dean observed the transaction as the suited business man approached a young man that looked about Sam’s age. Blond hair, slender figure…yeup, this was going to be easy. He followed them until they went into a rather shady looking hotel and staked out the area for the night. He then tailed the suit until he arrived at his home, sealing his fate. When Dean saw the lovely wife and very cute daughter that greeted the sleaze ball, he knew what he had to do. Driving off, he decided to stop and catch a couple of drinks. He’d need his wits about him the next day.

*~*~*

The sound of pages flipping were the only things Sam could hear as he looked through an ancient Norse text that specified in language and the runes. He glanced once more at the translation that he’d found so far for the runes that had been on Carine’s body. It had concerned him at its rather dire message, but also how it was like a list of her crimes. Betrayal, domestic troubles, death, justice, and Wrath of God…all of it pointed to her getting punished for something. He stared at the two symbols that had been above the eyes and groin. Thurisaz and Fehu…both reversed. ‘Thurisaz had been above the eyes, so perhaps it meant lies and maybe evil. Fehu had been above her groin…greed then?’ he wondered before sighing. It was a heavy duty message, no doubt about that.

Rubbing his eyes before shutting his book, Sam decided to head out. He stood up and his eyes drifted towards the symbols once again. Grimly, he nodded once. He had to check out the symbols that were on the mirror. It would most likely help him to find some kind of pattern or at least an explanation as to why that death had occurred. He had a sick feeling that the girl wouldn’t be the only death.

Heading out with his backpack slung over his shoulder, he went to the Impala and decided to get some food first. There had been an older mom and pop diner just down the street from there, so he drove over and went inside. He stopped though as he saw the latest newspaper articles.

Murder victim said to have been a prostitute and drug addict.

Surprised, he paid for the paper and went inside, sitting down automatically as he read the article.

Sources say that 23 year old Carine Sotan, who had been found raped and mutilated in her home early Tuesday morning, was said to have been doing drugs and cheating on her husband with multiple partners, the latest having been her killer. Eye witnesses state that she had been drinking in Last Stop Bar and had left with what looked to be a 28 year old young man. He was described as being about 6’1” and had brown hair and green eyes. Police investigators are asking the public to keep an eye out for the young man for they believe he is dangerous…

Swallowing hard, Sam rubbed the bridge of his nose, but then stopped as what had been revealed sunk in. ‘Doing drugs and cheating on her husband as a prostitute. Those symbols were telling what she had been killed for. And she’d been tied up and had had sex…it’s as if whoever had done this wanted people to know just what it was she was doing,’ he thought in sick realization. He suddenly agreed with Dean: humans were indeed sick and much harder to deal with than any supernatural beings they normally dealt with.

Unsure he could eat anything, he still ordered a sandwich with some juice, needing something healthy for once just to keep his energy up. He wished suddenly that Dean was with him, helping on everything. His brother had a tendency to see into things that would sometimes elude him for hours and then clear it up so the picture fell together for him. He also needed the reassuring presence of his brother.

Shaking his head with his thoughts, Sam ate what was put in front of him before paying and going towards the mirror house. He had to get those symbols. Once inside, he went to the mirror and stopped as he saw that it was repaired. Pulling out his gun from the back of his jeans, he stepped slowly towards the mirror while looking around cautiously. There was *no way* that the mirror had been repaired already, especially since the house was abandoned and the mirrors were just being stored there.

Seeing that no one was around, Sam sighed softly before turning his attention to the golden mirror. He put his gun back into its place in the back of his pants before he reached up and brushed off the light dusting that had fallen on the frame. He carefully cleared it of the dust, and then pulled out his flashlight so he could see the symbols that were carved amidst the onyx and pearl. Studying them silently for a couple of minutes, he attempted to translate what he could. ‘Thurisaz and Ansuz are not reversed, which means a force of destruction and change and a message. Gebo means balance and sacrifice and…’ He stopped as he saw the reversed sign that was larger than the others. ‘Wunjo…which could mean that the person is possessed by a higher being and that…’ He stopped again, eyes widening as he swallowed hard. “A berserker…oh shit…” he whispered as his gaze swept over the symbols again. He caught sight of Hagalaz next to Wunjo and shuddered. Whatever it was, it was going to be out of control in its mission. He had to find a way to stop it before more people were killed.

He took out a small piece of paper and pen and wrote down all of the symbols he found in order before leaving quickly. He had to start his research and he had to hurry. Dean was getting released the next day and Sam had to be sure that he had some kind of lead so that they could figure it out and avoid Dean getting arrested. ‘This is so not what we needed right now…’ he thought as he drove back to their hotel.

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