DEAD IN THE WATER- Part II

Bethany cursed under her breath as she stepped in the tiny puddle she hadn't even noticed. It was one of the annoyingly small, yet quite deep ones, which were just big enough for the dirty water to splash and cover clothes. Her shoes to be accurate, and the parts of her black jeans near her ankle.

She raised her foot in the air so she could inspect the damage and cursed once again, heading for the house she was supposed to meet the Winchesters at. She hated it. This stupid town, with it's stupid humidity, this stupid lake and most of all the whole goddamn case. Like, what's wrong with pools, huh? Can't people just leave the freaking deep waters to the fish and go to a pool?

Shouldn't have come here in the first place, she thought, kicking a small stone and watching it roll down the street. The whole atmosphere of this place made her nervous, which on the other hand, made her angry. And it was better to be angry than scared.

She stopped around twenty meters away from the house, not far from the road. She did not want to be seen just now from the houses' inhabitants. Bethany pulled out a small recipe from the diner she last visited and started to fold the small piece of paper. She had to kill the boredom somehow, as she didn't know how long she would have to wait. She had barely made a plane when she heard the familiar rumble of a car approaching. Her dark eyes lifted from her current occupation and she smiled happily.

Soon enough, the Impala rolled around the corner and Bethany put the paper back in her inner pocket. She immediately noticed who was sitting shotgun and her genuine smile widened. It was good to see the brothers together again, working as a team. Dean would never admit it, but he missed his brother like hell.

Baby drew to a stop and the older Winchester got out, quickly making his way to the waiting girl and wrapped his arms around her, almost lifting her up. Beth giggled and hugged him in response, burying her face in his neck. She inhaled the familiar scent of leather and Dean as she tightened her grip on his shoulders in order  not to fall on the ground.

They finally scooted back, smiles on both their faces. "Good to see you, kiddo." Dean teased, his green eyes glowing with satisfaction as Bethany let out an irritated sigh. "Dean, I'm only two years younger than you. I swear, I'll think of something to call you back, and you'll be sorry."

"Ha, it's an empty threat. You've been saying it for years."

Bethany had already opened her mouth to throw her sarcastic comeback at him, but was interrupted by Sam clearing his throat. The two hunters turned their heads to him and the girl smiled once again, quickly making her way to the younger brother and pulling him in a sweet embrace. Well as much as she could, the guy was a giant and she immediately thought this was her in revenge for the old days. She used to put her elbow on his head and lean on it, knowing it annoyed hm to no end.

"Sorry Sam, I'm glad to see you too. It's about damn time we got to work together on a case." With that, Sam's smile fell, and Beth immediately regretted her words. Of course. His return in the hunter world wouldn't have anything to do with his unwillingness to study or become a lawyer. Something bad must have happened -- really bad -- considering John wasn't with them. Deciding not to push it right now, she made a few steps back and motioned towards the door with her head.

"C'mon, let's get this over with."

✵✵✵

Dean knocked softly on the door, Sam and Bethany a step behind him. A short-haired man opened, looking surprised to see the three unfamiliar people in front of him. Beth inspected him closely, deciding he didn't look older than her. She couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him. Losing your family was a piece of crap no one deserved.

"Will Carlton?" Dean's voice snapped her away from her thoughts.

"Yeah, that's right."

"I'm Agent Ford. These are Agent Hamill and Fisher. We're with the US Wildlife Service," He explained, holding up his ID.

Soon enough they were behind the house, facing the lake. Bethany couldn't help but tense up. The cloudy weather made the whole atmosphere seem darker, and the water looked deeper and blacker. She took a deep breath to calm herself down, an action that didn't escape Dean's notice. The hunter shot his friend a small, calming smile. She nodded and looked at Will. It's alright. Dean is here, Sammy too. This is just water, and it's far away. It's ok.

"She was about a hundred yards out. That's where she got dragged down," the boy explained, looking at the lake. Bethany made a mental note. Dragged down. Not disappeared, dragged down.

"And you're sure she didn't just drown?"

"Yeah. She was a varsity swimmer. She practically grew up in that lake. She was as safe out there as in her own bathtub."

Perfect! Just peachy. She now knew it was a mistake to come here.

"So no splashing? No signs of distress?" Sam asked with his eyebrows raised.

"No, that's what I'm telling you"

"Did you see any shadows in the water? Maybe some dark shape breach the surface?" He continued, and Bethany shivered against her will.

"No. Again, she was really far out there."

"You ever see any strange tracks by the shoreline?" Dean asked as he moved closer to his friend, and casually placed his hand on her shoulder. His touch didn't calm her that much, but she was glad he tried to remind her everything was fine.

"No, never. Why? Why, what do you think's out there?" Death, honey.

"We'll let you know as soon as we do."

Dean headed back to the Impala, giving Bethany's shoulder an almost unnoticeable squeeze. She gave Will a small smile, turning around, ready to follow the older Winchester.

"What about your father?" Sam asked, causing the other two hunters to stop and turn around.

Will turned to look at the man sitting near the water, then turned his attention back to the person in front of him.

"Look, if you don't mind, I mean...he didn't see anything, and he's kind of been through a lot."

"We understand." Sam nodded and took off to catch up with his friends.

✵✵✵

"Now, I'm sorry, but why does the Wildlife Service care about an accidental drowning?" The sheriff asked, making his way towards his office. They had arrived a more than twenty minutes ago and still hadn't had the chance to talk to the guy.

"You sure it's accidental? Will Carlton saw something grab his sister." Sam questioned.

"Like what?" They walk in and the sheriff motioned to the two chairs in front of his desk. Sam sat down, and Dean motioned to Bethany to take the other one, as he leaned and supported himself on the back of her chair.

"There's nothing even big enough to pull down a person, unless it was the Loch Ness Monster."

"Yeah, right," Dean laughed and Sam and Beth turned around to glare at him.

"Will Carlton was traumatized, and sometimes the mind plays tricks. Still—" the sheriff sat down, "We dragged that entire lake. We even ran a sonar sweep, just to be sure, and there was nothing down there."

"That's weird, though, I mean, that's, that's the third missing body this year," Bethany stated.

"I know. These are people from my town. These are people I care about."

"Of course."

"Anyway... all this...it won't be a problem much longer," the man sighed, leaning back on his chair."

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, kniting his eyebrows. The girl couldn't ignore the little wrinkle that formed between his brows and had to suppress her smile.

"Well, the dam, of course."

"Of course, the dam. It's, uh, it sprung a leak." Bethany suggested, praying to whoever was listening that she was right. Like, what else could happen to a dam?!

"It's falling apart, and the feds won't give us the grant to repair it, so they've opened the spillway. In another six months, there won't be much of a lake. There won't be much of a town, either. But as Federal Wildlife, you already knew that."

A soft knock was heard, and a young woman slowly opened the door. "Sorry, am I interrupting? I can come back later."

"Agents, this is my daughter."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Dean." The older Wincheter jumped to shake her hand. Bethany and Sam shared a long, irritated 'oh wow, I bet you didn't see that coming' look.

"Andrea Barr. Hi."

"Hi."

"They're from the Wildlife Service. About the lake." The sheriff looked at his daughter, his eyes soft and full of empathy.

"Oh." Was all she answered. It was obvious something bothered her about the lake, and Beth immediately started to like her a bit. Like, hell, at least there was someone reasonable in this god-forsaken place.

The little boy who walked in around Andrea interrupted her thoughts and she gave the kid a smile and a small nod for hello.

"Oh, hey there. What's your name?" Dean asked, looking down at the child with kindness in his olive eyes.

The little boy, however, walked away without speaking. Andrea followed him close behind, without saying another word.

"His name is Lucas," the sheriff answered for him.

Lucas and Andrea were staying in the main room and the three friends watched as the woman gave him some crayons out of a box

"Is he okay?" Bethany asked, her voice quiet and soft.

"My grandson's been through a lot. We all have." With that the sheriff stood and went to the office door. "Well, if there's anything else I can do for you, please let me know."

The three hunters nodded as they all left the office.

Sam and Bethany watched as Dean slowly walked by Andrea's side. "You know, now that you mentioned it, could you point us in the direction of a reasonably priced motel?"
Beth couldn't help but roll her eyes. Dude, I'm already staying in, like, the only motel. And I told you that.

"Lakefront Motel. Go around the corner. It's about two blocks south."

"Two—would you mind showing us?" Don't press your luck.

Andrea just laughed. "You really want me to walk you two blocks?" At this point Sam was staying at his friend's side, both of them hiding their smiles and looking extremely interested at a painting at the wall of the police station

"Not if it's any trouble."

"I'm headed that way anyway."

Andrea turned to her father, saying she would be pack in a couple of hours to pick her son up. She leaned and kissed Lucas' head and walked out of the room. Sam thanked the sheriff again and the hunters left the building.

The woman lead the three of them down the street as uncomfortable silence spread between them.

"So, cute kid." Dean nO.

"Thanks." She just answered, the little exchange of lines had just made the whole situation even more awkward.

"Kids are the best, huh?" Dean tried again, but Andrea just glanced at him and ignored his words. They finally stoped in front of the familiar building that said LAKEFRONT MOTEL. Bethany mentally cheered. Bye Andrea.

"There it is. Like I said, two blocks." Yeah, we got it. I mean, me and Sam. Bethany smiled and thanked the woman and Andrea smiled back.

"You're welcome. must be hard for your partner though, with his sense of direction, never being able to find his way to a decent pickup line."

She then left, stopping to call back over her shoulder. "Enjoy your stay!"

Sam and Beth waited for the woman to walk away. When she was far enough, they just gave each other a look and irrupted in laughter.  "'Kids are the best'? You.. you... don't even like kids." Sam claimed, trying to take a breath.

"I love kids." Dean defended himself, looking almost offended, raising his hands in the air.

"Dude, name three children that you even know." Bethany stated, leaning on Sam in order not to fall on the muddy ground.

Dean thought for a moment and the other two hunters waved a hand and walked into the motel. The older Winchester scratched the back of his head. "Hey! I'm thinking!".

✵✵✵

Sam sat at the same desk in Bethany's room on her laptop, quickly going through the information she had found earlier. The girl just lied on her stomach on the motel bed, waiting for her friend to finish, while Dean was going through his clothes.

"So there's the three drowning victims this year." Sam asked, finally turning his attention from the screen.

"That's right. And six more spread out over the past thirty-five years. Bodies were never recovered either. If there is something out there, it must be picking up its pace." Beth answered, playing with the sheet in her hands, gripping it tightly in her her hands.

Dean tossed one of his flannels onto the bed next to her, while Sam eyed her suspiciously. She noticed it however and gave him a small frown. "What?"

"Nothing, just... I thought you went swimming in high school."

"Yeah, and?"

"And, almost every time we speak about the accidents, you look kinda... I dunno... nervous. I'm sure it's the lake, but... it just seems weird to me."

"I just don't like the whole concept, ya know.   Doesn't it terrify you? Like, it's just black water down there, meters and meters under you, with seemingly no end. It's horrifying." She shook her head, trying to clear her mind a little. "If you loose concentration for one moment in there, you die. End of the story."

"And so? You can drown at 1 mile the same way you can drown 6 feet deep. What's the difference?"

"The difference is me touching the bottom. As long as I know it's down there I'm fine. Anyway, what do you think we're dealing with- a lake monster on a binge?" She asked quickly, ending the conversation. It made her feel vulnerable, and the feeling wasn't a nice one.

"This whole lake monster theory, it, it just bugs me."

Dean came over, leaning to read over Sam's shoulder. "Why?"

"Loch Ness, uh, Lake Champlain, there are literally hundreds of eyewitness accounts, but here, almost nothing. Whatever it is out there, no one's living to talk about it." Bethany felt kinda left out so she jumped of the bed and leaned over Sam's other side, her shoulder gently brushing over Dean's. Sam scrolled to the comments section of an article and Dean pointed at it.

"Wait, Barr, Christopher Barr. Where have I heard that name before?"

"Christopher Barr, the victim in May."

Sam clicked a link and opened a new page. LOCAL MAN IN TRAGIC ACCIDENT. The picture loaded, showing a police officer with Lucas.

"Oh." Bethany exclaimed, absend-mindedly tapping Sam's shoulder  "Christopher Barr was Andrea's husband, Lucas's father. Apparently he took Lucas out swimming. Lucas was on a floating wooden platform when Chris drowned. Two hours before the kid got rescued."

Sam clicked the picture for a better look, then scratched the back of his head.

"Maybe we have an eyewitness after all."

"No wonder that kid was so freaked out. Watching one of your parents die isn't something you just get over." Beth suddenly remembered what happened 22 years ago in Lawrence and shifted her gaze to the floor, biting the inside of her cheek. That's what had happened to Dean. He had seen his mom die. She felt like she was intruding their personal space. It was close to what had happened last year to her, yet still nothing like it. Bethany knew her mom was alive, she was out of danger. This wasn't the case with the Winchesters.

"That's our only clue by now, so let's go talk to him. C'mon, get moving." She playfully slapped Sam's shoulder and headed for the door.

{edited 13. Sep 2017}