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Free Supernatural Fanfiction – Chapter Summary:

Dean learns to sense supernatural energy—with a little soulmate help. Lessons, blindfolds, and a junkyard hide-and-seek seal the deal.

Rating: PG-13
Contains:  PG-13 (for mild romantic content and supernatural themes)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:  
Lesson One

I DIDN’T EXPECT THE GUILT TRICK TO COMPLETELY WORK, but the hostility around me reading the books dissipated. They decided that if I wanted to drop the subject, then it was okay for them to ignore it. I wasn’t sure what they did with the books. They never made it back into the car after that ride. I assumed they probably burned them. It was a shame—I didn’t condone burning books, no matter the content. Chuck sent me an electronic copy a day or two later. I didn’t really have the heart to start reading them yet, but I held onto them—under a password and a different file name. Just in case.

We ended up back at Bobby’s for a little while. I wanted to help Dean learn what I could do, even though I wasn’t an expert. It was coming more naturally each day, which might’ve been because of Dean and me. I still couldn’t fully wrap my mind around that yet. Somehow, the awkwardness of finding out about the anam cara left as quickly as it came. Without really talking about it, we accepted that there was something between us. Nothing drastically changed in how we acted toward each other—minus the kissing. That came very effortlessly. So, we focused more on the other side of it: Dean needed to learn how to detect demons and exorcise them.

The first thing I wanted to show Dean was the different types of energy. That would help if an angel or demon came along. It was also one of the first things I could tap into when I was young. I initially thought we could do these lessons privately. It was so hard to get one-on-one time with Dean. However, Sam and Bobby were very interested in seeing if Dean could do this—and if I could actually teach him what I knew.

After breakfast, my class started. I knew it would be hard to explain. I didn’t fully understand it myself, and I knew there had to be better ways to present it than I did. Bobby and Sam sat across the room, trying not to be a distraction. Dean and I sat next to each other near the desk.

“So we’re reading energies?” Dean asked.

“That’s the plan.”

“Sounds a little new-agey to me.”

“Hush,” I scolded lightly. “It’s actually not too complicated. You probably already do it subconsciously.”

I’d spent the prior night thinking about how to describe it. It would’ve been easier if I had an angel and demon nearby to demonstrate the differences. The angel wouldn’t have been hard to get, but Cas hadn’t been around since our anam cara revelation. I wanted him to find more information on that, not be a guinea pig for my lesson.

I held out my hand. It was a little cool, but that was normal for me. I swept it over his arms—not touching him, but close enough that he’d feel it pass over.

“Normally, you can feel when someone’s close to you like this. You feel the wind or heat or coldness. So, reading energies is actually very similar.”

I let my hand rest on the back of his for a moment. “Right now, my hand is a little cool. But—” I flipped his hand over so his palm faced mine—“you can feel a slight heat from it. Warm, not hot?”

I hovered about an inch above his hand and waited as he assessed what I said.

“Do you feel that?” I asked.

He was seriously looking at our hands. “Yeah, it’s warmer than your hand was when you touched me.”

“Right,” I agreed.

“Try their hands. See if they feel the same,” I directed him to Sam and Bobby.

He got up. Sam and Bobby looked a little shocked to be incorporated into the lesson. They each held out their palms, and Dean hovered over theirs like I had with his.

“How does it feel?” I asked.

Surprisingly, I didn’t get a snarky answer. “It’s similar. Theirs are more alike than yours.”

“Hmm, maybe it’s the anam cara thing,” I muttered. “Anyway, they feel like a warm energy, right?”

He nodded. I watched Sam and Bobby look at their hands.

“I take it you two didn’t feel the difference?” I asked.

“No, I could feel something, but not much,” Sam said.

“Well, that’s what a human will feel like,” I concluded. “It should be subtle, warm, and nothing unusual about it.”

Dean sat back down beside me—a little closer than last time. He was trying to reach out to my energy without using his hand. I smiled to myself. I looked at him to let him know I knew what he was trying to do. He smirked a little and looked down at the floor.

I continued, “An angel and a demon are basically complete opposites. An angel usually gives off a warmer energy than a human. A regular angel—one not in the midst of falling or possessing a vessel—will also give off a very peaceful or calming energy. You shouldn’t feel threatened or like something’s wrong.” I paused to think. “Cas is a little different because of his vessel, but underneath it, you should feel that. I think—but I’m not positive—that the vessel is still giving off its own energy while he’s occupying it. So, each angel with a vessel will feel slightly different. Overall, you should be able to tell by the temperature and usually a faint sense of calmness.”

“What about a falling angel?” Bobby asked.

“They’re kind of a mixture between angel and demon energies,” I said, my voice not as confident as before. “I can only judge that by Zachariah at the moment.”

“Zachariah is a fallen angel?” Sam asked.

“Technically, ‘falling’ would be more accurate. He hasn’t fallen yet,” I explained. I tried to remember exactly how I felt when I met him. “He’s not on a good path, that’s for sure. He’s still warmer than humans, but the calmness is gone.”

“And a demon?” Dean asked.

I turned back to him. “They’re probably the easiest to tell. They give off a very cold energy, but it also includes an oppressive feeling. The air is denser with them. It makes it harder to breathe, and there’s always a slight odor.”

“Sulfur?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, pretty much. Ghosts are similar, but they’re usually just cold—rather than dank and smelly.”

“And how is Dean going to tell from a distance? I don’t think a demon’s going to want to hold out his hand,” Bobby commented.

“Practice,” I said. I wasn’t exactly sure of the best way to implement my lesson. “We could do a Luke Skywalker thing. Blindfold him and see what he can sense?”

Dean glanced at me. “What? Now you’re Obi-Wan? I thought you were Yoda.”

“I’m versatile,” I said with a smile and stood.

“Okay, so how do we do this? We don’t have a demon, and our angel is MIA,” Dean said, standing as well.

“I thought about using myself,” I answered.

“You?” Bobby asked.

I nodded. “I thought that perhaps the anam cara might help with this. I mean… since we’re kind of connected through it. Technically, we have a little piece of each other’s soul—which, according to my story, is part of being soulmates. In theory, we should be able to sense each other.”

After a moment of thought, I added, “It might come in handy if we’re ever separated, too.”

Dean nodded. “Let’s try it.”

Sam pulled out a bandana. “So, how do you want to do this?”

“I’ll go into the kitchen and stand somewhere. Help Dean to the doorway when you’re ready, and see if he goes in the right direction.” I shrugged.

“So basically, I shouldn’t wander in until I’m sure of where you are?” Dean asked.

“Right.”

I headed toward the kitchen, treading as lightly as I could. I didn’t stand in the corner, but behind the table along the middle side wall and waited. I tried to send my energy out to him. This would be a good exercise for me, too.

Sam and Bobby brought Dean to the doorway and let go of his arms. I made sure to breathe quietly and not move. I reached out to him the best I could. Later, we could try it without me projecting—see if he could do it himself. He stood still for a minute or so, then took a hesitant step forward in my direction. No one moved or said a word. We all just watched as he started walking straight toward me.

I smiled as he got closer. He was actually doing it! Bobby and Sam looked completely stunned. He moved slowly, but the closer he got, the surer his steps became. When he was about a foot away, I reached out to him.

“You did it,” I said.

He kept one hand latched onto me and took off his blindfold with the other. At first, he looked amazed that he’d done it—but then his face lit up.

“That was… awesome!” Dean finally said, looking behind him.

“Dude, you went straight for her,” Sam said, still surprised.

“I know!” Dean turned back around.

“Want to try it again? This time I won’t project my energy?” I asked.

“You’re on,” Dean said.

“Wait, does this work with anyone?” Bobby asked.

“Well, I can sort of sense where groups of people are, but not like this,” I answered.

“Have you been going stalkerish on me?” Dean teased, still pumped from the exercise.

“Yeah, right. And how often are we really apart?” I countered.

He thought for a moment, then bobbed his head in agreement.

“We doing this or what?” Sam asked.

“Yep,” Dean answered. He walked back into the other room with Bobby and Sam, closing the door between them and the kitchen.

I could still hear them talking through the closed door. I went over to the counter and sat on it. I had to admit—it was exciting. After a moment or two, they opened the door again.

This time, I kept my energy to myself. He paused at the doorway and felt the room. I almost jumped as his energy hit me all of a sudden. He smiled and started walking directly toward me again.

He came right up and stopped just before touching me. “Found ya,” he said, then took off the blindfold. He placed his hands on either side of me on the counter.

“That was really good,” I said, still astounded by how quickly he caught on. He grinned widely.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Bobby whispered.

Dean picked me up off the counter and swung me around.

“How far do you think this would work?” Sam asked.

Dean set me down. I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“We could try something more elaborate,” Bobby said.

“What? A giant game of hide and seek?” Dean asked, brightening at the thought.

“Something like that,” Bobby replied.

He gave Dean a second glance before explaining his idea. Dean wouldn’t be blindfolded, but we’d use the auto lot instead. It was bigger, and I could hide in a car. To make sure we didn’t cheat, Sam and Dean went into the basement until Bobby came back from hiding me.

Bobby and I went outside. He said he had an idea of where to hide me.

“You know, I’ve seen some freaky things in my time, but this… this is something,” Bobby confided.

“Tell me about it,” I said. We walked farther into the pile of cars.

Bobby stopped in front of a smashed-up car. I thought it was a car. I could’ve been wrong.

“Alright, princess—your chariot awaits.”

“Uh…” I looked at the twisted piece of metal in front of me. “Where am I supposed to fit in there?”

He rolled his eyes. “Just climb through that window. You’re small enough.”

I held back a sigh and put a leg through the broken window. The seat crunched under my weight, and it smelled like mold. Bobby grabbed my arm and helped me the rest of the way in.

“Don’t move.”

He waved as he walked away.

I had a strong urge to blow raspberries at him, but I resisted. It would’ve been wasted anyway. As I sat there, I wondered if Dean could sense me from this far away—and if he could, how long it would take to find me. I’d never really tried my own energy-finding skills. I hadn’t needed to yet. I let my energy flow out of the car a little. I tried to get more comfortable. I couldn’t stretch out my legs because the car was so crunched up.

Finally, in the distance, I heard the door open and their voices. They were far enough away that I couldn’t make out what they said. My heart rate increased at the thought of Dean finding me. I didn’t want to cheat by reaching out to see where he was. The anticipation continued.

It took him longer to move. I wasn’t sure if being outside or the distance was more of a problem. When I was outside, I felt things around me. It muddled the energies—like at the convention. Everyone had a higher level there—excitement, mostly. It was different from what I normally felt in abandoned houses or other places that had only spirits. I had to weed through the energies without taking them in myself. Otherwise, I’d get overwhelmed. I’d actually learned how to do that before meeting Sam and Dean.

Large crowds always bothered me. It was as if it was too much to take in. That’s why I always sat near the back or edges in a classroom when I could, or stayed near a wall or open doorways at large gatherings. I’d probably need to show Dean how to block them as well. He wouldn’t have many problems here at Bobby’s, but when we go back out, he might feel it more now that he was experimenting with this gift.

I felt him coming. He walked at a regular pace, like he knew where he was going. I perked up.

“She’s there,” I heard Dean call out.

I turned around. He was walking over. “Does this mean I win?” he asked, arms raised.

“You get me out of here, then yes,” I said, realizing my leg had fallen asleep from sitting all scrunched up.

He helped pull me out of the car.

“Well, I think lesson one is good,” Sam said, looking between us.

“Yep,” I agreed. Lesson one was successful.

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