Chapter Forty-Nine

Okay, a longer chapter now. Sam and Dean don't show up 'til the next one though! Thanks for the reviews I got from rae94, Lori-Winchester and Cici Linne. They mean a lot so thank you! :D Hope you enjoy!

xxxxx

When they arrived and had checked themselves into a motel, they immediately went to find the kids who had been unlucky enough to find the dead body. They found three of the four, but instead of being enlightened they came back even more confused. Each of the kids had given conflicting accounts of the story, with minor details all different. However, there was one thing they all agreed on: the name of the person who had brought them to the house in the first place. "Craig," they all said in unison.

xxxxxx

After tracking down where Craig worked, Sally and Gillian headed to the local music store. Pushing open the door, they stepped inside and looked around. A guy standing behind the counter noticed them and looked up. He cleared his throat, smoothed back his hair and plastered a smile on his face before stepping around the counter towards them.

"Ladies, can I help you with anything?" he asked them, grinning widely as he looked them both up and down. Sally heard Gillian sighing loudly as she looked at the guy and she cut in before her more volatile sister could say anything.

"Yeah, are you Craig Thurston?" she asked. He nodded.

"I am," he replied, his grin never fading.

"Oh, well, we're reporters with the Dallas Morning News. I'm Gillian, this is Sally," Gillian explained.

Immediately, his hand shot out and after a moments hesitation, Sally shook it, shooting a sidelong glance at Gillian. He turned to Gillian and offered his hand. Gillian stared back for a second but catching the look Sally threw at her she reluctantly stuck out her own hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you ladies," he told them silkily, still holding Gillian's hand. She quickly snatched it away and Craig's face fell.

Sally stepped in and smiled at him and once again, his face lit up. "Um, we're doing an article on local haunting's and rumour has it that you might know about one," she told him.

"You mean the Hell House?" he asked in surprise.

"That's the one," Gillian confirmed. He shook his head slightly.

"I didn't think there was anything to the story," he replied.

"Why don't you tell us the story?" Sally pushed.

Craig nodded and turned, heading back behind the counter. Sally and Gillian followed. "Well, supposedly, back in the 30's, this farmer, Mordechai Murdoch, used to live in the house with his six daughters. It was during the Depression, his crops were failing, didn't have enough money to even feed his own children. So, I guess that's when he went off the deep end," he said.

"How?" Sally asked.

"Well, he figured it was best if his girls died quick, rather than starve to death, so he attacked them. They screamed, begged for him to stop but he just strung them up, one after another. Then, when it was all finished, he turned around and hung himself. Now, they say that his spirit is trapped in the house forever, stringing up any other girl that goes inside," he told them.

"Where'd you hear all this?" Gillian questioned.

"My cousin, Dana, told me. I dunno where she heard it from," he shrugged.

"You gotta realise, I didn't believe this for a second," he stated.

"But now you do?" Sally asked him. He stared at her for a second and shook his head in disbelief.

"I dunno what the hell to think. I'll tell you exactly what I told the police. That girl was real and she was dead. This was not a prank. I swear to God, I don't want to go anywhere near that house, ever again," he finished.

Sally and Gillian glanced at one another. "Thanks," Gillian said, as they both turned away and headed for the door.

"Hey," he called out. They turned around.

"You know, I don't think it's a good idea for either of you to go up there," he warned them. Gillian shook her head.

"We'll be fine, we do this kinda thing a lot," she assured him.

"Well, maybe I should take your number, just in case anything happens," he offered hopefully. Gillian snorted.

"Thanks, but we'll be fine," she stated, turning and walking out of the store with Sally in tow.

They both sat into the car and Gillian turned the keys in the ignition. "Maybe, I should take your number," she echoed, sniggering.

"I dunno, Gillian, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea if we did call someone. I mean, this thing goes after girls. It would be a bit reckless of us to just go charging in, guns blazing," Sally stated.

Gillian looked at her. "What are you suggesting?" she paused and stared at her sister, who shrugged.

"Call who? Sam and Dean?" Gillian asked.

Sally shrugged again. "Maybe that wouldn't be a bad idea," Sally began before Gillian cut her off.

"No, we can't go running to them every time we need a little help. We can do our own hunts," Gillian replied, as she pulled away from the kerb.

"I'm not saying that, it's just I think it's better to be safe than sorry," Sally replied.

"Yeah, well, it's you and me, Sally. We don't work with other hunters. The past few hunts with Sam and Dean were either coincidences or definite emergency's. This does not qualify as either of those things," Gillian told her.

"Fine, it was just a suggestion," Sally muttered.

There was a silence in the car. "Wait, is this about something else?" Gillian asked suddenly, turning to look at her sister.

"What are you talking about?" Sally asked her, frowning slightly.

"Do you - do you want to see them again?" Gillian asked incredulously.

"What? No," Sally said, shaking her head vigorously from side to side. Gillian gasped, a smile breaking out across her features.

"Oh my God, you do!" she exclaimed, laughing slightly.

"Gillian, shut up. I don't know what you're talking about. Just keep your eyes on the road," Sally grumbled, looking away from her sister.

"Which one?" Gillian questioned, excitedly. Sally ignored her. "Please don't say it's Dean because I don't know how anyone could-," Gillian began before Sally interrupted.

"Gillian, stop it," she said angrily.

"It's Sam, isn't it?" Gillian asked her. Sally again turned away, her face heating up.

"Oh my God, it is, isn't it?! You're blushing," Gillian exclaimed, laughing openly now. "That is so cute. You two are-" she stopped once again when Sally cut in.

"Gillian, I do not like Sam in that way," she hissed.

"Whatever, you can deny it as much as you want," Gillian teased her, looking up as they reached the desolate house.

It was out in the middle of nowhere and she stopped the car. Sally hopped out of the car ahead of her and stalked towards the house, her brown hair blowing in the wind. Gillian giggled to herself as she stepped out of the car but gave a disgusted sigh when her feet landed in the muck surrounding the car. It must have rained heavily for the past couple of days. "Great," she muttered to herself, seeing the dirt that already coated her shoes.

She quickly squelched after Sally and caught up with her as she looked into one of the windows. Gillian pulled out and EMF meter and began to scan the area surrounding the house. Sally looked up as it began to buzz and light up. "You got something?" she asked.

Gillian tapped the screen. "Yeah, the EMF's no good," she told her.

"Why?" Sally asked, confused. Gillian glanced around and nodded towards the old power lines that surround the house.

"I think that things still got a little juice left in it. It's screwing with all the readings," she pointed out. Sally nodded.

"Yeah, that'd do it," she agreed.

"Come on, let's go," Gillian said, as she walked up onto the porch.

They entered the house and looked around, taking note of the number of different symbols painted on the walls. "The kids said they found the body in the basement," Sally said, nodding towards one of the doors. Gillian nodded and walked over, opening the door slowly and shining her torch down the flight of stairs.

She began to descend down the stairs, closely followed by Sally who held her gun aloft. Reaching the bottom, she glanced around the stone cellar, shivering slightly, as she took in the dark, damp walls.

"It's pretty cold for June," she stated looking around. Sally nodded in agreement, heading towards one of the shelves. She swung around quickly when she heard a scuttling noise behind her.

"What is it?" Gillian asked.

"Nothing, I thought I heard something," Sally replied, shaking her head. She was still unnerved though and she couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching them.

Another noise, this time to her side, caused her to swing around, flashing her torch from one end of the room to the other. Gillian was out of sight, behind a couple of the shelves. She could see the faint beam of her sisters torch illuminating the other side of the room. Sally began to back up, the noise coming closer and closer. "Gillian," she called out.

Gillian looked up when she heard Sally's voice calling out. Turning, she quickly hurried towards the corner of the room where Sally was. She rounded one of the shelves and came face to face with her sister. "What's wrong?" she asked her.

"There's something here. I can hear it. I think we should go," Sally replied, shooting looks all around them.

"Sally, it's probably rats or something," Gillian told her as she turned and began to walk away.

"Gillian, I really-," Sally began again, before Gillian turned and shined the light in her face.

"Sally, what has you so spooked?" she asked. Sally shrugged.

"You're right. It's probably nothing. I'm sorry," she said. Gillian nodded and was about to turn away when she caught sight of something behind Sally.

"Sally, duck," she shouted, lifting her shotgun. Sally threw herself onto the ground as Gillian fired at whatever was behind her.

She turned and stared at the man looming over her. Gillian shot at it again but nothing happened and the man advanced towards Sally, holding a rope taught. She scrambled backwards, reaching for her gun where she had dropped it. Before she could grab it though, the man had reached down and wrenched her up, wrapping the rope around her neck as he did so.

Gillian was reloading her gun but when she lifted it up and pointed it towards the man, she didn't have a clear shot because he was holding Sally in front of him. Sally tugged at the rope, wrapped around her neck and choked when she was lifted off the ground. Gillian ran forward and turning towards the man that was now looming over her, she shot him again at close range.

This time he disappeared and she hurried towards Sally, who was kicking and scratching at the rope around her neck. Her hands began to slip however and Gillian grabbed Sally's gun and shot at the rope hanging her from the ceiling.

Sally dropped to the ground and inhaled a deep, shuddering breath as Gillian ran over and helped her up. "Come on, I don't how long he'll stay gone," she exclaimed, pulling her towards the stairs.

Suddenly, there was a roar behind them and they turned to see the man once again advancing towards them.

Gillian pushed Sally up the stairs ahead of her and turned shooting once again but he didn't disappear. She backed up the stairs after her sister and stumbled through the door, as Sally slammed it shut behind her.

They both ran straight through the front door and collapsed beside Gillian's car, panting. "What the hell kind of spirit is immune to rock salt?!" Sally exclaimed, staring at the house.

Gillian shook her head in confusion.

"Maybe your right," she said. Sally looked at her.

"We should call them," she finished.