08x06 - Southern Comfort

[bunniefuu]

8.06 Southern Comfort

Air Date: November 7, 2012

NOW

EXT. HOUSE – NIGHT

Kearney, Missouri

A car pulls up and parks outside a house. In a covered area next to the house, a Man is underneath his car working on it and listening to a radio. A Woman walks up and stands near the MAN's feet.

Man: Hey, hon. Just in time. Grab me a cold one, would ya?

Woman: [angrily]Why don't you have Sara Alcott get it for you?

Man: What?

The woman kicks away the jack that was holding up the car.

Man: Aaah! Oh, my God! Mary, help! Mary, what are you doing? Mary, what are you doing? Mary!

Mary gets in the car and starts the engine.

Man: Help me!

Mary drives away as the Man screams. Blood splatters a refrigerator upon which there is a large sticker that reads "The South Will Rise Again."

SUPERNATURAL

ACT ONE

EXT. FAT MACK's RIB SHACK – DAY

Dean is leaning against the Impala checking his phone. Sam walks up carrying a bag of food and two drinks.

Sam:

Heads up. [He hands Dean a drink and walks to the passenger side of the Impala.]

Dean:

I caught wind of a case on this police scanner. Sounds like our kind of thing.

Sam:

I wasn't even gone ten minutes.

Dean:

Okay. That matters why?

Sam:

I don't know, Dean. How about because you haven't said a word to me since Prentiss Island? And now, what? You want me to shut up and ride shotgun and act like nothing happened?

Dean:

You want to talk about Benny? Fine. Let's talk.

Sam:

Okay. How about he's a vampire?

Dean:

He's also the reason I'm topside and not roasting on a spit in Purgatory. Anything else?

Sam:

Don't pretend I don't get it. I know you had to do what you had to down there.

Dean:

I highly doubt you get anything about Purgatory.

Sam:

But you're out now, and Benny's still breathing. Why?

Dean:

He's my friend, Sam.

Sam:

And what about my friend, Amy? She was what? 'Cause you sure as hell didn't have a problem ganking her.

Dean:

Well, I guess people change, don't they? We let that werewolf Kate go, didn't we?

Sam:

She was different. She – you think Benny's different? He tell you he's not drinking live blood, or something? And you believe him. Wow. Okay. You know, you're right. People do change.

Dean:

Yeah. I got a vampire buddy, and you turn your phone off for a year.

Sam:

Don't turn this on me.

Dean:

Look, Benny slips up and some other hunter turns his lights out, so be it.

Sam:

But it's not gonna be you, right?

Dean:

You coming or not? [He gets into the car.]

EXT. HOUSE – DAY

An ambulance leaves the driveway as the Impala pulls up and parks on the street outside the house.

Impala – DAY

Dean and Sam are wearing their FBI suits.

Dean:

So, guy's old lady comes home while he's working underneath his ride, puts the pedal to the metal, and takes half his head off.

Sam:

What, that's it?

Dean:

Yeah, in a nutshell. She says she blacked out, doesn't remember a damn thing.

Sam:

Well, that sounds like insanity.

Dean:

Maybe.

Sam:

So, how does that make this our kind of thing?

Dean:

Because, Sam, Kevin's in the wind, okay, you're sulking around like a eunuch in a whorehouse, and I can't help but ask myself, when is decapitation not my thing? [He gets out of the car.]

EXT. HOUSE – DAY

Dean and Sam walk up to a Sheriff's line outside the house and hold up their badges.

Deputy: Whoa, whoa. FBI?

Sam:

Yeah, happened to be in the neighborhood.

Deputy: First a Texas Ranger, now you guys?

Dean:

Texas Ranger?

Deputy: Yes, sir. Right over there. [He points to GARTH, who is interviewing a WITNESS. He is wearing a cowboy hat and tasseled leather jacket.]

Dean:

Oh, you got to be kidding me.

Music plays as GARTH takes off his hat and fans himself in slow motion. Dean and Sam walk over to GARTH.

Dean:

Hey, Chuck Norris.

GARTH

Sam? Dean!

Sam:

Shh.

GARTH laughs and hugs Sam.

Sam:

Forgot he was a hugger.

GARTH

Come here!

Dean:

All right. Okay.

GARTH hugs Dean.

Dean:

We're still – we're still working here.

GARTH

Uh, you guys have no idea how much I missed you.

Dean:

[to the WITNESS]Um, excuse us, would you?

GARTH

Yeah, we'll be right back.

Dean, Sam and GARTH walk a short distance away from the WITNESS.

Dean:

A Texas Ranger, Garth? Seriously? We're in Missouri.

GARTH

What? Come on. I look like a funeral director in one of those. Wow. I heard some chatter you two were back in the batter's box, but I didn't believe it till now.

A cell phone plays Kris Kross' "Jump." GARTH opens his jacket to reveal three phones in a row in separate pockets.

GARTH

Oh, uh, one sec. Um... [He answers one of the phones.]

GARTH (on phone)

Yo, Earl. What you got? A revenant. Okay, uh, you'll need a casket and some silver spikes. Oh, and don't get bit. No, it won't turn you, but it will hurt like hell. Okay, so, once you got all that, nail that sucker in, bury him, and throw away the key. Okay? All right. Hasta.

Dean:

What are you doing?

GARTH

My job, hombre.

Dean:

Your job?

GARTH

Yeah.

Dean:

And since when is giving advice your job?

Sam:

Hold up. Are you the new Bobby?

Dean:

You shut your mouth.

GARTH

Yes.

Dean:

You shut your mouth! What?

GARTH

Bobby was gone. You two were MIA. It was a weird time. Somebody had to step in and take up the slack. All right. Let's just get back to work, and we'll talk about this later, all right? [He walks away.]

Dean:

Did Garth just tell us what to do?

After a moment, Dean and Sam follow GARTH, who has returned to the WITNESS.

GARTH

Uh, Scott Lew. These gentlemen here are with the FBI. Mr. Lew's parents were the individuals involved in this... unfortunate situation.

Dean:

Sorry for your loss.

Sam:

Just a few questions, Mr. Lew. Um, by any chance were your parents having... marital problems?

Scott: No. Uh, no more than anyone else.

Sam:

What about your mother's health? Any chance this was a seizure, a stroke, anything that might help explain this?

Scott: I don't think so. Um, they're checking her out at the, um, hospital right now.

Dean:

What about stranger behavior?

Scott: Stranger? How?

Dean:

Hearing voices, seeing things – your mother mention anything like that?

Scott: My parents were married for 30 years – high-school sweethearts. There's no good explanation for why this happened, no matter where you want to look.

GARTH

Okay, well, thank you, Scott. We'll be in touch.

Scott walks away. Dean looks GARTH up and down.

CUT TO: Sam is on one knee using an EMF reader in the covered area where the OLDER MR LEW worked on his car.

Sam:

No EMF. No traces of sulfur anywhere. Like I thought – bust.

GARTH

Hold on there, Sam. There's a lot of things to factor in here. Uh, it happened last night, so the readings could be cold by now.

Dean:

Good point.

GARTH

And, uh, even if there was any sulfur, Barney Fife and his crew probably contaminated the whole crime scene and any evidence that was here with it.

Dean:

Wow. He's on a roll.

Sam:

That's one word for it.

GARTH

Uh, guys, I think I found something.

GARTH lifts a foot. Green goo is stuck to the bottom of his boot.

Dean:

Is that gum, or is that ectoplasm?

Sam:

Ectoplasm is usually black, right?

GARTH tastes the green goo.

GARTH

Mm. [Sam and Dean grimace.]Definitely ectoplasm. [Sam and Dean look at each other.]So, what are we thinking – uh, some kind of ghost, right?

Dean snaps his fingers. One of GARTH's cell phones plays Kool Moe Dee's "Wild Wild West." He answers it.

GARTH (on phone)

Uh, Ranger McCrae here.

Dean:

One of those things rings Hammer, I'm throwing down.

GARTH (on phone)

Oh, great. Okay. Okay. [He writes on his palm.]Thanks, Doc. [He hangs up.]

GARTH

Asked the coroner to drop me a line in case the autopsy turned up anything... unusual. And guess what. Our dead guy had the word "Alcott" [he shows Sam and Dean his palm, on which he's written the word]carved into his chest.

Sam:

With what?

GARTH

Coroner's best guess? His wife Mary's fingernails.

INT. HOSPITAL – DAY

Sam, Dean and GARTH are standing next to Mary LEW's bed, to which she is handcuffed. A Sheriff stands guard outside the room.

Sam:

Mrs. Lew, can you tell us what happened?

Mary LEW

I was at the store getting groceries, and the next thing I know, my son Scott finds me in the driveway. And Chester was...

Sam:

Do you remember anything at all about what happened? Um... Chester dying?

Mary LEW

Not really. Bits and pieces, I guess.

GARTH starts to giggle. He looks at Dean and Sam and turns his giggle into a cough.

Dean:

Such as?

Mary LEW

I remember his screams... the smell of burnt rubber, and... I remember feeling so angry – just uncontrollable rage, like I wasn't myself. And after it was over, all that anger was – just gone.

GARTH

Uh, ma'am, does the word "Alcott" mean anything to you?

Mary LEW clenches a hand into a fist and tugs against the handcuff chaining her to the bed.

Mary LEW

What does she have to do with anything?

Sam:

It's a she?

Mary LEW

My husband, Chester, and I were going steady in high school for a few years already when we had a big fight.

Dean:

What about?

Mary LEW

Something stupid, I'm sure. It was around prom, and so he took Sara Alcott as his date instead of me.

GARTH

So, this Sara Alcott was a rival for your husband's affections?

Mary LEW

Sara had one night with him, whereas I was with Chester for 37 years. [She starts to cry.]

Sam:

Of course, right. Sure. Um, just one more question. Um... Is... Ms. Alcott still alive?

Mary LEW

As far as I know, yes.

Dean:

Thank you very much, Mrs. Lew.

EXT. HOSPITAL – DAY

Dean, Sam and GARTH walk towards the Impala.

Dean:

Let me get this straight. This poor guy goes to prom with some girl over 30 years ago, and because of that, he is now a pancake?

Sam:

I mean, if this is a ghost, maybe it's some sort of possession?

Dean:

What are you talking about? You heard her. Alcott's alive.

GARTH

Well, we're definitely gonna want to talk to her.

Dean:

Yeah, sounds like a plan. Did we eat yet?

INT. BAR – DAY

Dean, Sam and GARTH are eating at a table. A Waitress brings another plate.

Waitress: There you go.

GARTH

Mmm. Thanks. Keep 'em coming.

Waitress: All right.

GARTH

[talking with his mouth full]So, Dean, give me the skinny. Where were you this past year?

Dean is eating a burger and Sam is eating what appears to be a chicken salad. Several plates they appear to have finished with are on the table.

Dean:

Why don't we save what I did on my summer vacation for another time?

GARTH

Aw, come on.

Dean:

All right. I was in Purgatory.

GARTH

Like the PurgatoryPurgatory?

Dean:

No, the one in Miami.

GARTH

Man, that's balls.

Dean:

That's not how you say "balls."

GARTH

So how'd you get out?

Sam makes a show of looking at Dean. Dean looks around at a Confederate flag on the wall.

Dean:

What's up with all the, uh, hillbilly hankies? These people know the Civil w*r's over, right?

GARTH

Mm. That's a touchy subject around these parts. See, Missouri was a border state. So, half the men were Confederate, the other half were the Union.

Sam:

How do you know all this?

GARTH

I went to college.

Sam:

You went to college?

GARTH

Yeah. College, and on to dental school.

Dean:

What, you – you were a dentist?

GARTH

Yeah, just for, like, a hot minute. Where'd you think I got my first case?

Dean:

Let me guess - Tooth Fairy.

GARTH puts down his fork and looks down at the table.

GARTH

Yeah. Man, I felt terrible when I ganked that SOB.

Sam:

Uh, you k*lled the Tooth Fairy?

GARTH

Yeah, man. I mean, not my proudest moment, but it happened. Mmm. Man, this is good.

CAR – DAY

Scott is driving. His phone rings as he parks and he answers it.

Scott (on phone)

Hey, hon. [A Man walks towards the convenience store Scott has parked outside.]Uh, just, uh, grabbing some joe on the way to the hospital, gonna bring Mom her stuff. [The Man sees Scott and waves.]Oh, crap. Jeff's here. Don't worry, I'll be fine. Okay. [Jeff goes into the store.]Love you.

Scott shakes an asthma inhaler and inhales from it. He takes some money from a bag next to him.

INT. CONVENIENCE STORE – DAY

Scott enters the store. Black goo runs from one of his ears. He starts to pour himself a cup of coffee. Jeff hurries up to him.

Jeff: Hey, Scott, how's – uh, look, I heard about what happened with your folks. I'm really sorry. If there's – there's anything – I mean, anything – that I can do, just – just ask, man. Please.

Scott: How about getting me my money back… [he flings hot coffee in JEFF's face]…Jeff?!

Jeff falls to the ground, yelling in pain. Scott takes a shovel from a rack and stabs Jeff with it. Blood splatters a refrigerated cabinet. Scott stabs Jeff several more times with the shovel before dropping it to the ground and turning away. Scott looks up at a security mirror. His reflection flickers and then appears as a Confederate soldier with gray skin.

ACT TWO

INT. CONVENIENCE STORE – DAY

JEFF's body lies on the floor, covered with a bloodstained sheet. Dean and Sam, dressed in their FBI suits, walk over to it.

Dean:

So, first the mom goes "Natural Born k*ller," and now the son? Well, what do we got – a ghost with an Oedipus complex? [Sam looks at him.]I don't know what that means.

Sam:

Check that out. [He points to the refrigerated cabinet, upon which "Sussex" is written in blood.]

Dean:

"Sussex." What is that, another name?

Sam:

I don't know.

GARTH, who is wearing his Ranger jacket and a baseball cap, finishes talking to a Sheriff and turns to Sam and Dean.

Sam:

Hey, what'd the cops say?

GARTH

Aw, come on. [He has stepped in green goo.]Not much. Uh, Scott insisted he wasn't in control of himself. Says all he remembers is a red-hot rage.

Sam:

So, what is this, some – some kind of family curse?

Dean:

Is that Bobby's hat?

GARTH

Oh, yeah. Sure is. We worked a rugaru case together a few years back. He left it in my car, so I kept it as a... [Dean takes the cap from GARTH's head]…memento. What are you doing?

Dean:

That's not how you wear it.

Deputy: Gentlemen, surveillance is up… [Dean tucks the cap under his jacket]…but something is all screwy with it.

CUT TO: Security footage of Scott stabbing Jeff with the shovel plays on a television screen on the wall. SCOTT's head is obscured by white light and there is a white line across the screen.

Deputy: Must be the camera.

GARTH

Yeah, thank you, there, Deputy.

Dean:

You guys see the head? Ever seen anything like that before?

GARTH

Like that? No way.

Sam:

So?

Dean:

So…

GARTH

So, I'm thinking we need to talk to Sara Alcott. I found her – although these days, she goes by Sara Brown.

Sam:

How about this? I'll check her out, and you two see what you can find out about Sussex.

GARTH

Word.

Dean:

Awesome.

Sam looks pleased as he leaves.

EXT. SARA ALCOTT's HOUSE – DAY

Sam and SARA ALCOTT are sitting in chairs on the porch. Sam is drinking iced tea.

Sam:

Mmm.

SARA ALCOTT

Now, I know you didn't come all this way for my sweet tea, Agent.

Sam:

No. Um, actually, I'm – I'm here about Chester Lew.

SARA ALCOTT

Oh, yes. So sad.

Sam:

It is. Is it true you and Chester... dated a ways back?

SARA ALCOTT

Well, that is an odd question for the FBI, isn't it?

Sam:

You wouldn't believe the awkward questions I've had to ask people.

SARA ALCOTT

[laughs]Yeah. Well, yes. Yes. Me and that old tomcat, Chester, we went to prom together. That's about it.

Sam:

And that's all?

SARA ALCOTT

Well, I wasn't exactly a good girl, if that's what you mean. And after that, I-I thought that Chester and I were gonna be hot and heavy. But it just wasn't meant to be. And, uh, a week later, he eloped with Mary.

Sam:

Did you speak much to Mary or Chester again after that?

SARA ALCOTT

Well, I'd see them about, you know – picnics and such. But... Mary kept Chester on a pretty short leash. Honestly, I'd moved on, but it seems she never did.

Sam:

And why do you think that is?

SARA ALCOTT

Well, I guess in her mind, I was a reminder of Chester's betrayal.

Sam:

Huh.

SARA ALCOTT

So, if that's all...

Sam:

Yes, uh, thank you very much for your help.

SARA ALCOTT goes inside and Sam walks away. He pauses and looks back at the house.

FLASHBACK

INT. MOTEL ROOM – NIGHT

An empty bottle of alcohol lies on its side next to two glasses on a table. Clothes are strewn across the floor, coffee table and sofa. Sam and Amelia are in bed together, Amelia lying across Sam's chest.

Amelia

It's been a long time since I let myself go like that.

Sam:

Yeah, I know what you mean.

Amelia

You asked me if I lost someone. I did. My husband. He d*ed in Afghanistan

eight months ago.

Sam:

That must have been, um... I... I can't imagine.

Amelia

Yeah. We were together forever. Or at least it seemed that way. Then one day, Don just enlists. Didn't ask me, just said something about wanting to do the right thing. Next thing I know, he's off overseas and I'm all alone. I got a couple letters, some phone calls, and then a knock at the door. Just like that. And everywhere I looked, all I could see was judgment and pity and just this constant reminder of Don everywhere. So I moved here... and became even more of a hot mess than I already was. And you hit a dog.

Amelia and Sam hold each other and close their eyes.

EXT. SARA ALCOTT's HOUSE – DAY

Sam comes out of his reverie, looks back at the house again and walks away.

INT. MOTEL ROOM – DAY

Dean and GARTH are sitting at the table. GARTH is reading a journal and Dean using the laptop while drinking a beer. GARTH reaches for a beer that is on the table between them, but Dean prevents him from taking it.

Dean:

Easy there, flyweight. Last time you drank a beer, I had to pick you up

off the floor.

GARTH

You're such an idjit.

Dean:

Idjit's supposed to be used angrily. Okay? Not happy. If you're gonna butcher it, don't say it at all.

GARTH

Whoa, then. Okay. N-none of my business, but... this have anything to do

with you and... Sam?

Dean:

No, you had it right. It's none of your business.

GARTH

Okay. It just seems that you guys are a little tense around each other.

Dean:

We're fine. Can we get back to work?

GARTH

Yeah.

Dean:

Okay.

GARTH

All right. Just, uh – just letting you know that I'm here for you, for anything. I know sometimes Bobby, he would –

Dean:

You're not Bobby! Okay? You're never gonna be Bobby, so stop!

GARTH

Bobby belonged to all of us, Dean – not just you and Sam. Now, I'm just taking what he showed me and trying do something with it. That's all!

Dean:

[more softly]Why don't you see if you can find something in that bourbon-drenched book of his so we can get the hell out of Dixie, all right?

GARTH

Yeah. I'm on it.

Dean:

Hey. "Sussex" is not a who, it's a what. It's a business that went belly-up about a year ago. Look at this. [He turns the laptop towards GARTH. On the screen is an article about the bankruptcy of Scott LEW and Jeff BULT's tire company.]So, the guy that Scott brained? His old business partner – ran the company into the ground.

GARTH

So, Scott had a beef with Jeff.

Dean:

Looks like. [His phone rings and he answers it.]

Dean (on phone)

Hey, you're on speaker. [He puts the phone down on the table.]

Sam (on phone)

Sara Alcott's clean, if you look past the fact that she and Chester

knocked boots on prom night back in the day. [Sam is leaning against the Impala outside SARA ALCOTT's house. The remainder of the scene alternates between Dean and GARTH in the motel room and Sam outside SARA ALCOTT's house.]

Dean:

Okay, so... Mary has a grudge against Sara, and Scott has a grudge against Jeff. Besides the fact this is making my head hurt… [GARTH is reading a page about spectres in the journal]…how does this add up to a ghost?

GARTH

Guys! Bobby has it right here. Green goo equals a spectre.

Dean:

Which equals ghost, right?

GARTH

Mm, yeah, kind of. A spectre is an avenging ghost. It, uh – it possesses you and finds out whatever betrayals you're feeling and forces you to act on them.

Sam (on phone)

Bobby say anything in there about how we hunt these things?

GARTH

Uh, the last spectre he encountered Rose shortly after someone desecrated a nearby grave. [He searches for "grave, vandalism, Kearney" in the Federal Criminal Database.]Which... [A Kearney Sheriff's Office investigation report appears on the screen.]Uh, there was a grave desecrated locally three days ago. It says here... Oh. This could get awkward.

Dean:

What?

EXT. CEMETERY – DAY

Dean, Sam and GARTH approach a tomb outside which a uniformed guard stands.

Dean:

The unknown soldier? You're kidding me, right?

GARTH

Mary Lew steamrolled her husband the day after this place was vandalized. Do the math.

Sam: But I thought the unknown soldier was buried in Arlington.

GARTH

Yep, but this is the Confederate tomb of the unknown soldier. See, the idea was, they took a faceless, nameless soldier they couldn't identify, and they buried him here to commemorate all the soldiers who d*ed.

Dean:

Did you learn that in college?

GARTH

Nope – Civil w*r re-enactments. Once a year, every year. Don't hate.

Sam: Okay, uh, what about the guard?

GARTH

Uh, he's ceremonial. Gone by dusk.

Dean:

So, then we do this tonight?

GARTH

Yeah.

Sam: Burn a Confederate soldier's bones in a town full of rednecks? Sure.

EXT. CEMETERY – NIGHT

The Impala drives into the cemetery.

CUT TO: Flashlights shine on Confederate soldier headstones. Dean, Sam and GARTH approach the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

INT. TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER – NIGHT

Dean, GARTH and Sam enter the tomb.

Sam: Place doesn't look disturbed to me. What's the police report say?

GARTH

Uh, they think it was just some kids messing around. They, uh – they found some beer cans, some graffiti. Oh, and the casket was open when they got here, but they closed that back up.

Dean:

Yeah, but not before Casper had a chance to make a run for it.

Sam: So, what? If they never touched this, none of this would be happening?

GARTH

Yeah, according to Bobby.

Dean:

All right, well, let's get this party started.

Sam picks up a circle of thin cord from the floor.

Dean:

Sammy, you want to give me a hand? And... go.

Dean, GARTH and Sam push the heavy stone lid of the casket aside. Inside the casket lies a skeleton in a uniform, with a sword and g*n.

GARTH

Whoa. Check out this hardware. Do you guys know how much this is worth?

Dean:

Yeah, but why open it up if you're not gonna take anything?

Sam: I don't know. Maybe the cops showed up and they had to split fast.

GARTH

You sure this will work, even on a spectre?

Dean:

It's a ghost, isn't it? You burn its bones, the ghost disappears.

Sam pours lighter fluid over the skeleton and Dean prepares to set it alight.

Dean:

All right.

GARTH

All right. All right. All right. Uh, I kind of feel like we should say something, all right? Don't you? Just... a little...

Dean looks at Sam.

Dean:

Sure. We won.

Dean strikes a match and sets the skeleton on fire.

INT. Sheriff's OFFICE – DAY

A folder lands on a Deputy's desk.

Sheriff: Write that up for me, would you, Doug?

DOUG (Deputy WALLACE) watches the Sheriff return to his desk.

Scott: [huskily]Help!

Scott is in a holding cell, holding a hand to his chest and struggling to breathe.

Scott: Please!

Deputy WALLACE

Hey. You okay?

Scott: Need my... asthma... inhaler. From evidence. Please.

Deputy WALLACE goes into the evidence room and tips the inhaler and a set of keys into his hand from an envelope on a shelf. There is a strange noise and black goo runs from his left ear. He takes a r*fle from a cabinet and points it at the Sheriff, who is eating lunch at his desk.

Deputy WALLACE

Why don't you write your own reports, Sheriff?!

The Sheriff screams as Deputy WALLACE fires.

ACT THREE

INT. Sheriff's OFFICE – DAY

A crime scene investigator photographs blood on the wall behind the Sheriff's desk.

Man:

All right. We're set. [The Sheriff's body is on a stretcher, covered with a bloodstained sheet.]Let's go.

OTHER Man

Yeah.

The MEN push the stretcher away. Dean, GARTH and Sam stand around the Sheriff's bloodstained desk.

Dean:

Ten bones says Deputy Doug had an axe to grind with his boss.

GARTH

How can you be so sure?

Dean points to green goo on the Sheriff's tape dispenser.

GARTH

Ah, what the hell?

Dean:

Maybe we torched the wrong redneck.

Sam:

Or maybe not. Maybe an object wasremoved from the grave, something the spectre's attaching itself to.

Dean:

Like Bobby's flask?

GARTH

Um, I don't know, guys. You saw what I saw. Those kids didn't take anything.

Sam:

Or they did.

Dean:

And this spectre hitched a ride with it.

Sam:

And whoever has the object gets possessed.

GARTH

Okay. So, who's got the object, and, more importantly, who do they got a grudge against?

CUT TO: Sam, Dean and GARTH are in a holding cell with Deputy WALLACE.

Sam:

All right. We need you to focus, Deputy. Other lives depend on it. Tell me what happened after you sh*t the Sheriff.

Deputy WALLACE

I was on the ground. I think Karl tackled me, and I asked him what happened.

Dean:

And?

Deputy WALLACE

He didn't answer me. He just took my g*n and walked away.

Dean:

Did he say where he was going?

Deputy WALLACE

I guess... I must have hurt him, too. He said he was going to the hospital.

Dean, GARTH and Sam leave the cell.

Dean:

You two find out what you can about the unknown soldier. I got the hospital.

Dean walks away.

EXT. HOSPITAL – DAY

A Sheriff's vehicle pulls up outside the hospital. Deputy KARL grabs a r*fle and gets out. He glances in the side vision mirrors and we see his reflection change to that of a Confederate soldier.

EXT. LIBRARY – DAY

GARTH and Sam get out of GARTH's vehicle and walk towards the library.

GARTH

Hey, uh, Sam. If you ever need to talk, I just want to let you know that I'm here. About anything – you know, life, uh, Dean, you.

Sam: I'm okay. Thanks.

GARTH

I mean, it just seems like you and Dean are talking but nobody's listening to each other. I had this cousin once – well, he's gone now – but his name was Frank. Frank and I used to build...

GARTH goes inside the library. Sam stands on the steps outside.

FLASHBACK

EXT. MOTEL ROOM – DAY

Sam wakes and rolls over.

Sam: Hey.

Amelia is dressed and carrying a handbag.

Amelia

Hey. Uh, just lock up when you leave. I'm late. [She picks up her keys.]

Sam: Wait, what?

Amelia

I just think it's better if neither of us get the wrong idea here.

Sam: O-okay.

Amelia

And I know I said a lot of things last night, and I know I can't ask you

to forget them. But just... Do.

Sam: Why?

Amelia

Because I don't need your pity. I don't need you looking at me the way they all – like that.

Sam: Wait, um... you think this is pity? Amelia, I'm glad you told me about Don. It helps me understand.

Amelia

How messed up I am? You think I don't know that? You don't have to feel sorry for me, Sam.

Sam: I didn't mean it like that.

Amelia

Yeah, well, like I said, I'm late. So...

Amelia leaves the room.

EXT. LIBRARY – DAY

GARTH opens the front door of the library and speaks to Sam, who is still standing on the steps.

GARTH

Hey, you comin'?

EXT. HOSPITAL – DAY

Dean gets out of the Impala, which is parked behind the Sheriff's vehicle. Dean glances in the open window of the Sheriff's vehicle and walks on.

INT. LIBRARY – DAY

A LIBRARIAN is leading Sam and GARTH through the library.

LIBRARIAN

You do know there is a good reason he's called the unknownsoldier, right?

Sam: Right. Uh, we were just hoping maybe a theory or two had been a floated around over the years – something local, maybe?

LIBRARIAN

There is one. [She takes a book from a shelf.]

INT. HOSPITAL – DAY

A Woman and a Man in hospital employee uniforms are laughing together on opposite sides of the reception desk when a sh*t shatters a pane of glass next to them. They scream and duck for cover. Deputy KARL points his r*fle at the Man. He has black goo coming from his right ear.

Deputy KARL

Hey, ump. You remember me? I stole second!

Man: Karl? What the hell are you doing? Why are you doing –

Deputy KARL

Why am I gonna make mustard from your brain stem?! I don't know. Why did you call me out, ump?

Man: I'm sorry.

Deputy KARL pulls the trigger, but the g*n doesn't fire.

Dean

Looks like you're sh**ting blanks.

Deputy KARL turns to face Dean. Dean grabs the r*fle and punches Deputy KARL.

Deputy KARL

Hey, that tickled.

Deputy KARL punches Dean, who falls heavily to the floor. Deputy KARL grabs Dean and pulls him to his feet again.

INT. LIBRARY – DAY

The LIBRARIAN is turning pages in a book as she speaks to Sam and GARTH.

LIBRARIAN

Corporal Collins of the Union sh*t and k*lled his brother, Vance, who fought for the Confederacy. Local boys. [We see a photograph of VANCE in the book.]

Sam: Wait, so two brothers fought on opposite sides of the Civil w*r?

LIBRARIAN

Legend has it that Vance swore vengeance on his brother with his dying breath. Years later – consumed by guilt, no doubt – the corporal dug his brother up where he'd buried him on the b*ttlefield and brought him home.

GARTH

Are you suggesting this Vance guy is the unknown soldier?

LIBRARIAN

That's one theory, anyway.

Sam: What's that? [He points to the photograph, in which VANCE is wearing a necklace with a round disk pendant.]

INT. HOSPITAL – DAY

Deputy KARL is holding Dean by the throat.

Dean

Karl, listen, I know the spectre's turning the temperature up in there. So just tell me what the object is, and we'll send this joker home.

Deputy KARL

I don't think so. There's unfinished business, thanks to you. [He sniffs Dean.]Oh, the spectre likes you.

Dean

Oh, yeah? Why don't you tell him to come on out here and we'll make promise bracelets.

Deputy KARL flings Dean onto and over a desk.

INT. LIBRARY – DAY

LIBRARIAN

Most of the soldiers were poor farmers, so... [she turns to another page in the book, which shows a close-up of a 1859 Indian Head penny on a string]...the families would give them a penny on a string. It was for good luck, and in case they ever got lost, they always had a penny for food or drink.

Sam: A penny.

INT. HOSPITAL – DAY

Deputy KARL holds up a penny with a hole drilled through it.

Deputy KARL

Here. Have a taste.

He presses the penny into Dean's palm.

EXT. LIBRARY – DAY

Sam and GARTH leave the library. Sam is on the phone.

Dean's Voice ON PHONE MESSAGE

It's me. Do what you gotta.

Sam (on phone)

Dean, hey. There was a string on the floor of the tomb. It used to hold an old penny. That's the object. We're coming right now.

INT. MOTEL ROOM – DAY

Sam and GARTH enter. Sam has his phone to his ear and we hear a phone ringing in the room.

Sam: Dean? What the hell, man? We went to the hospital. [Dean is sitting on a bed. His ringing phone is next to him.]You're not answering your phone.

Dean has black goo running from his right ear. He stands up and points a g*n at Sam.

Dean

You should have looked for me when I was in Purgatory.

ACT FOUR

EXT. CEMETERY – NIGHT

Three Days Ago

Soundgarden's "Fell on Black Days" plays.

INT. TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN CONFEDERATE SOLDIER – NIGHT

Teenagers drink beer and look into the casket. One points a g*n that was in the casket. Another takes the penny on a string from around the skeleton's neck. He breaks the string off and puts the penny in his pocket.

♪ Whatsoever I've feared has come to life ♪
♪ Just when every day... ♪

The teenager who took the penny uses it to pay for purchases at a convenience store.

♪ ...seemed to greet me with a smile ♪
♪ Sunspots have faded, and now I'm doing time ♪

The cashier gives the penny as change to Mary LEW. We see a flashback of Mary LEW kicking the jack out from under the car CHESTER LEW was working on.

♪ 'cause I fell on ♪
♪ black days ♪

Scott LEW takes the penny from Mary LEW's bag, which is next to him on the seat of his car. We see a flashback of him stabbing Jeff with the shovel.

♪ I fell on ♪
♪ black days ♪

We see a flashback of Deputy WALLACE going into the evidence room and tipping the inhaler and keys into his hand.

♪ How would I know that this could be my fate? ♪

We see that in addition to the inhaler and keys, he also tipped the penny into his hand.

♪ How would I know that this could be my fate? ♪

We see a flashback of Deputy WALLACE sh**ting the Sheriff. The penny drops from Deputy WALLACE's hand onto the floor.

♪ How would I know that this could be my fa-a-te? ♪

Deputy KARL handcuffs Deputy WALLACE and picks up the penny from the floor. The scene then cuts to a flashback of Deputy KARL pressing the penny into Dean's hand.

♪ I sure don't mind a change ♪

INT. MOTEL ROOM – DAY

Dean is pointing his g*n at Sam.

Sam: Come on, Dean. I know it's not you in there pulling the strings.

Dean

Shut up! [to GARTH, who makes a move towards his belt for a w*apon]Don't! [to Sam]You never even wanted this life. Always blamed me for pulling you back into it.

Sam: That's not true.

Dean

Really? 'Cause everything you've ever done since you climbed into my ride has been to deceive me.

Sam: What do you want me to say? That I've made mistakes? I've made mistakes, Dean.

GARTH

That's not Dean, Sam.

Dean

Shut up! Mistakes? Well, let's go through some of Sammy's greatest hits. Drinking demon blood, check. Being in cahoots with Ruby. Not telling me that you lost your soul. Or how about running around with Samuel for a whole year, letting me think that you were dead while you're doing all kinds of crazy. Those aren't mistakes, Sam. Those are choices!

Sam: All right. You said it. We've both played a little fast and loose.

Dean

Yeah, I might have lied, but I never once betrayed you. I never once left you to die. And for what, a girl? You left me to die for a girl?

Sam put a hand on the g*n and punches Dean. He pushes Dean into a glass pane, which breaks, and punches Dean twice more. Dean backhands Sam, headbutts him, then kicks him across the room. Sam falls to the floor, then pulls himself up to lean against a sofa.

GARTH

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! [He gets between Dean and Sam.]

Sam: Garth, don't.

GARTH

No, he won't k*ll me. His beef isn't with me. You're not gonna sh**t me, are you, Dean?

Dean

[pointing the g*n at GARTH]Move.

GARTH

Come on, Dean. You do not want to k*ll your brother. You – you've been protecting him your whole life. Don't stop now.

Dean

He left me to rot in Purgatory!

GARTH

All right. All right. Maybe he did. I don't know. I wasn't there. But I'm sure he had his reasons.

Sam: Just like you had your reasons for Benny.

GARTH

Who?

Dean

Benny has been more of a brother to me this past year than you've everbeen! That's right. Cas let me down. You let me down. The only person that hasn't let me down is Benny.

GARTH

I know you're angry. But, man, you got to fight this thing. Do not do this! Just let it go. Come on, Dean.

Dean

Goodbye, Sam.

Dean tries to push past GARTH. GARTH punches him. The penny drops from Dean's hand.

GARTH

[shaking the hand he used to punch Dean]Ow! God!

GARTH picks up the penny.

Sam: Garth, don't!

GARTH

It's cool. It's all good. I'm cool.

Dean touches the black goo on his ear. Sam sighs. GARTH looks at the penny.

ACT FIVE

EXT. MOTEL – NIGHT

GARTH walks to his vehicle, carrying a bag. Dean follows him.

GARTH

It took me forever to melt that penny, but it's finally gone.

Dean

How come that penny didn't jack you like everyone else? I mean, I can understand why it didn't affect the kid who took it. He's young and innocent. But, uh, everyone at some point in their life feels like they've been screwed.

GARTH

Not me, man. I let all that stuff go with the help of my yogi, my Sega Genesis. And you should, too. You can't change the past, amigo. Now, there's something I want to say to you. Stop being a idjit! With Bobby dead, you and Sam are all each other has. And that's not so bad, man. Now, you know what's coming next, right? [He spreads his arms slightly.]Come on.

Dean

[looking away]Oh...

GARTH

Come on.

Dean

Yeah, okay.

GARTH hugs Dean.

Dean

Hey, uh... [He takes Bobby's hat out of his back pocket and puts it on GARTH's head.]Keep on truckin', Garth.

GARTH

Thanks. [He touches the brim of the cap in salute. One of his cell phones plays M.C. Hammer's "U Can't Touch This."]Oh, got to go.

GARTH (on phone)

Yo, Lamar. What do we got? Wendigo? [He gets into his vehicle.]You got a flare g*n? No? What about a flame thrower? [He laughs.]Then you'd better get some sneakers, buddy, 'cause you're gonna have to run. All right.

GARTH tries unsuccessfully to start his vehicle. He slams a hand on the steering wheel.

GARTH

Balls!

GARTH tries again to start his vehicle, this time with success. He gives Dean a thumbs-up and drives away.

INT. MOTEL ROOM – NIGHT

Sam is wiping his face with water at a sink. There is a knock at the door.

FLASHBACK

EXT. MOTEL ROOM – NIGHT

Sam is knocking on Amelia's motel room door. She opens it.

Amelia

Sam, I can't. [She starts to close the door, but Sam stops her.]

Sam: I don't pity you. Okay? I don't. You and I – we're a lot of things,

but we're not to be pitied. Look, I lost my brother, Dean, a few months ago. It felt like my world imploded and came raining down on me, and... I ran. Just like you.

Amelia

Is that supposed to be a pep talk?

Sam: Yeah, uh, sort of.

Amelia

Because... See, now I pity you.

INT. MOTEL ROOM – NIGHT

Sam follows Amelia into the room. Amelia is holding an empty glass.

Sam: Well, I mean, that wasn't really my point. [Sam closes the door behind him. Amelia picks up another glass.]

Amelia

Yeah, well, bell's rung on that one, so...

They sit down on the sofa and Amelia pours whiskey.

Sam: So, uh... so what now?

Amelia

I don't know. You want to talk about it?

Sam: Last night?

Amelia

No. Dean,you pervert.

Sam: Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that. Do you want to talk about Don? [He reaches a hand towards her.]Hey, I'd like that, too. [Amelia covers his hand with her own.]

The flashback ends.

INT. MOTEL ROOM – NIGHT

We hear more knocks. Sam is looking at himself in the bathroom mirror.

Dean

[from outside the motel room]Sammy!

There are more knocks at the door. Sam sighs and slowly walks out of the bathroom.

EXT. MOTEL – NIGHT

Sam closes the trunk of the Impala.

Sam: For the record, the girl – her name's Amelia. Amelia Richardson. She and I had a place together in Kermit, Texas.

Dean

Look, man, I don't even remember what I said, but, uh –

Sam: But what? But you didn't mean it? Oh, please. You and I both know you didn't need that penny to say those things.

Dean

Come on, Sam.

Sam: Own up to your crap, Dean. I told you from the jump where I was coming from, why I didn't look for you. But you? You had secrets. You had Benny. And you got on your high and mighty, and you've been kicking me ever since you got back. But that's over. So move on, or I will.

Dean

Okay. I hear you.

Sam: Good. [He walks towards the passenger seat and faces Dean over the car.]You know what? Hear this, too. I just might be that hunter that runs into Benny one day and ices him.

Dean

I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, won't we?

Sam: Yeah. Yeah. You keep saying that.

END