Dead in the Water.

CHAPTER EIGHT , DEAD IN THE WATER

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Flashback

Athena loves car rides. Especially when the music was blasting and the windows were rolled down. When they would come to stop light, everyone would turn their heads and look at the Impala. Almost like they were jealous of the family in it. It always made Athena feel good. She was happy that the family she's always dreamed of is what people saw from the outside.

She just wished her dream could come true.

The Impala comes to a slow stop and Athena tightens her grip around her teddy bear. Sam looks to the side and sees Athena trying her best to keep her breathing under control. He lightly touches her arm and she looks at him through the tears in her eyes.

"We'll be back to get you at 11."

Athena looks up at her father and meets his vacant eyes in the rear view mirror.

"Isn't..." Athena rolls her lips into her mouth. Trying to gain the courage to speak. "Isn't there any other way to...do this?"

And just like that, the vacant look in John's eyes quickly twisted into burning rage. It made Athena's chest tighten so much she felt like she couldn't breathe.

Athena lets out a small breath. She grabs the door handle, but Sam grabs her hand.

"Dad, come on. This is crazy."

"Sam." Dean quickly says.

Sam pulls his brows together and shakes his head, obviously having enough.

"No! Last time she almost got—"

"And she's gotten better." John tightens his grip around the steering wheel, causing Dean to tense up.

"She's a kid! We all are—why can't you do it?!"

"It's fine, Sam!"

Sam looks at his little sister, who wiped her tears, and now had a small smile on her lips. "It's fine. I can do this."

Sam opens his mouth to say something, but Athena shakes her head. 'He won't go for it.' Her eyes read.

Athena meets Dean's eyes and he quickly looks away from her. Her eyes sadden and she opens the door then hops out of the car. Sam sinks into his seat as the car door closes. Could he really do nothing for his little sister?

Athena watches the Impala drive away and she inhales. "It's fine. You are fine." She whispers.

Athena inhales a soft breath, forcing tears in her eyes. She lets out a quiet cry that increases. "Help, someone, help me. Please!"

Present

"Can I get you anything else?"

Athena shifts her gaze up, and her mouth hangs open. "Whoa..." she whispers. She then slaps a hand over her mouth.

Dean smiles at the woman in the shrunken pink tank top.

With her hand still over her mouth, Athena shifts her gaze down to the newspaper and pretends to be reading. Her heart was beating through her ears and her face was bright red.

Sam sits next to Athena, "Just the check, please."

"Okay." The lady giggles softly and walks away from the table.

"You know, Sam, we are allowed to have fun once in a while." Dean states. He points at the blonde. "That's fun."

"She's not an object." Athena looks at Dean.

He turns to the auburn-haired girl. Dean sputters, "Of course, I know that."

Athena quietly hums, "Right, of course, you do." She inhales. "Anywho, take a look. I got one."

She hands the newspaper to her brothers. "Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin—Last week, Sophie Carlton, 18, walks into the lake, doesn't walk out."

"Authorities dragged the water—nothing. Sophie Carlton is the third Lake Manitoc drowning this year. None of the other bodies were found, either. They had a funeral two days ago."

Sam pulls his brows together. "A funeral?"

"They buried an empty coffin for closure."

"Closure?" Sam asks. "What Closure?"

Athena chews the inside of her cheek.

"People don't just disappear, Athy." Sam states. "Other people just stop looking for them." He shifts his gaze to Dean.

Dean squints his eyes at his brother. "Something you want to say to me?"

"The trail for dad—it's getting colder every day." Sam states.

"Exactly. So what are we supposed to do?" Dean asks.

"I don't know." Sam shrugs, his anger climbing. "Something. Anything."

Athena tenses and sinks in her seat, not wanting to get between them.

"You know what? I'm sick of this attitude." Dean snaps. "You don't think we want to find dad as much as you do?"

You don't want to find them, now do you?

"Yeah, I know you do-"

"I'm the one that's been with him every single day for the last two years while you've been off to college going to pep rallies."

Athena's hands start to shake and she closes her eyes. Her heart beat quickens. She never liked confrontation, especially now after the way she grew up. When people screamed at her, it always made her panic and she couldn't think. Even just being in the middle of this made her uncomfortable.

"We will find dad, but until then, we're gonna kill everything bad between here and there, okay?" Dean finishes.

Silence settles between the brothers. Athena opens her eyes and exhales the breath she was holding.

"Okay." She lets out a dry chuckle. "Lake Manitoc, how far?"

☆

"She was about 100 yards out, that's where she got dragged down."

Athena looks at the Lake and shivers.

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

"She was a Varsity Swimmer." The man states. "She practically grew up in that lake. She's as safe out there as in her own bathtub."

"So, no splashing no signs of distress?"  Sam inquires.

"No, that's what I'm telling you." The man states.

"Did you see any shadows in the water, maybe some dark shape breach the surface?" Sam asks.

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

"You ever see any strange tracks by the shoreline?" Athena asks, turning to the three men.

The man looks at the girl, his brows pulled together, obviously confused why the young girl was even here. He then looks at Sam and Dean.

Dean nods his head, saying that she was okay. Athena rolls her eyes, noticing. She looks down at her long sleeve pink shirt with bright yellow overalls and red converse. Maybe I should dress like a 10 year old.

"No, never. Why? What do you think's out there?"

"We'll let you know as soon as we do." Dean says, he taps Athena's shoulder, catching her attention.

Athena follows Dean away from the man, but Sam stays. "What about your father?" He inquires. "Can we talk to him?"

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

Athena's eyes trail off to the man sitting on the dock.

"We understand," Sam says, before walking away with his siblings.

After visiting the lake, Athena had to stay at the Motel, while Sam and Dean went to the Police Station.

Athena's heart was ramming against her rib cage. She could barely breathe. Her hand was over her stomach and she was pacing the room back and forth. "Dumb, stupid..." she wipes the tears from her face and covers her eyes.

You're such a pig.

Athena looks at the empty bags of food on the table and touches her throat. She exhales a sob and runs into the bathroom. Athena slams the door shut and presses her forehead against it.

"Okay, okay...you can do this." Athena whispers. "You've done it a million times. No biggie."

Athena tries to laugh it off but it turns into a sob. She looks at the toilet and quietly sighs.

Just like clockwork, Athy.

Athena walks over to the toilet and sits in front of it. She inhales a shaky breath and nods her head.

"Just like clockwork."

☆

Athena sits at the table with, her leg bouncing nonstop. Her eyes travel around the bar. She never understood what was so fun about bars. People got drunk, did some things they would regret, wake up with a hangover, and it would end up being an endless cycle. She's only a kid, so what would she know?

Athena shifts her gaze to the group of friends laughing while playing pool. They were lightly shoving each other while stumbling into one another, their joy never leaving for a second. A small smile graces Athena's lips. She went to school from time to time, but she never had any friends. When she went to school, she would introduce herself and talk to them. They would always think that she was trying to be 'one of the popular kids'. But Athena just wanted friends.

"Here you go, sweetie."

Athena looks away from the pool table and her eyes meet the man's soft expression. He sets down a glass of strawberry milk and a bowl of chips. in front of her and sticks a crazy straw into it.

Athena raises her brows, shifting her gaze between the man with a soft expression and the glass of strawberry milk. She stares at the glass for a moment and the bartender smiles.

"Take your time, kid."

Athena slightly tilts her head. The only person that she knows to be so patient with her is Sam.

"So, you wanna tell me why you were here all by yourself? In front of a bar?"

Athena swallows her strawberry milk and clears her throat. "I got lost..." she whispers, looking into her glass.

The bartender looks at the auburn-haired girl. With a worried expression. She reaches for the bowl of chips and her shirt sleeve slightly pulls back, revealing her bruised wrist.

"Did you get lost or did you run away?" The man asks.

Athena pulls her brows together, her eyes follow his and she catches sight of her dark purple wrist. She pulls her hand away from the bowl of chips and tucks her hands into her jacket pockets.

"Do you need help?"

Athena feels her heart drop into her stomach and all her mind could say was, "Yes." And "Help Me."

She wanted to cry out those words with all her heart. The man's expression was soft, but she could see the worry in his eyes. He knew she needed help, but he also knew if she didn't say anything wasn't much he could do.

But then Athena thought. Would her father think she was a coward? Would he care if she left? Then she remembered the promise Sam made her. He promised that he would get her out when he was old enough to leave.

Athena rolls her lips into her mouth. "I just got lost." She chuckles softly.

The man gives her a soft smile, but his eyes were still sad. "All right then, kid." He looks at the teddy bear next to her.

"It got a name?"

Athena presses her lips together and shakes her head. "Haven't had the time." She answers like a tired adult, causing the bartender to laugh. She goes back to sipping her strawberry milk.

"No time? Naming something is probably the best part of having it."

Athena's mouth twitches. "I think..." she stops talking and eats some of the chips.

The man slightly tilts his head, "You think what?"

Athena nervously shakes her head.

"You don't have to be afraid here, y'know?"

Athena slows her chewing. Not afraid? She doesn't remember the last time she wasn't afraid. Maybe when she was with her mom. She doesn't even remember her.

"I think loving something is the best part of having it." Athena speaks her previous thought.

The man chuckles and Athena's face reddens out of embarrassment. Her breathing quickens.

He's gonna laugh in your face.

Never should've said anything idiot.

"That's some smart shit for a 2 year-old."

Athena raises her brows, surprised he didn't give her a harsh remark. But then she pulls her brows together.

"I'm 5." She corrects. "I know I'm small for my age. But, I doubt I look 2..."

Athena grabs a handful of chips and stuffs them in her mouth, becoming more comfortable. She then holds her other hand out, "I'm Athena."

"Like the Goddess of Wisdom and War."

Athena's eyes light up, "Yeah!"

The man chuckles and shakes her small hand. "I'm Zach."

Present

Athena's gums have officially started to bleed when she brushed her teeth. The auburn-haired girl spent the rest of her time in the bathroom sobbing. Her chest was constricting and she could hardly breathe. Athena knew what she was doing was wrong, but every time she was kept alone with her thoughts or looked in the mirror, she would remember why she started in the first place.

Athena tangles her hands in her hair, rocking back and forth. "You're fine. You are fine." She chuckles softly. She lightly touches her mouth and winces from her sore gums. Athena hears the front door open and her brother's voices fill the room. Her heart jumps into her throat, she quickly rises to her feet and inspects her mouth in the mirror. She saw her gums were slightly swollen and bright red. But she couldn't do anything about that now.

"Athena, we're back!" Dean calls out.

"Okay, I'll be right there!"

"Oh, dude!"

Sam turns to Dean who was holding the empty bags of food. "She scarfed down all the food."

Sam pulls his brows together, he walks over to the table and grabs the bag. He looks at the door and then back at the bag. Soon enough, Sam felt something click in his head and his heart drops into his stomach. He suspected it, and he decided to ignore it. Dean notices Sam's silence. "What?" he asks.

Sam walks over to the door and knocks on it rapidly. "Athy? Athena?"

The door swings open and Athena sighs, "What's going..." she trails off her question when she sees the empty bag in Sam's hand. She looks behind Sam and sees Dean holding the other empty bag, with a confused expression.

"Athy--"

"I didn't do anything," Athena says, walking past Sam.

"I didn't...I'm not accusing you of anything," Sam says.

Dean watches Athena grab her laptop and sit at the table. "I don't...huh?"

Sam looks at Dean and exhales through his nose. "Athena...did you--"

"Can we not do this right now?" Athena asks, her voice quiet.

Silence settles into the room and Dean's jaw goes slack. He looks down at the bag in his hand, finally understanding what's going on. Dean never noticed it before, but now that he thinks back to the small things that he would brush off, everything made sense to him now. Athena never eating in front of him, immediately going to the bathroom when he did see her eat, empty bags of food. How could he actually fall for Athena saying she 'threw it away.'? Stupid.

"I mean--we have a case, so can we focus on it?" Athena's voice was now shaking like she was going to cry any second. She knew they were both looking at her, wanting to confront the situation now. But Athena was going to do whatever she could to avoid it.

Sam and Dean look at each other, then back at Athena.

"We're talking about this later." Dean points at the auburn-haired girl.

Athena nods her head, "Of course." she starts to type on her laptop. "So...are you gonna catch me up on what you guys found?"

Sam and Dean sit at the table with Athena and explain to her what they found and what they should be looking for. Dean soon after, walked over to his bag and started unpacking while Sam and Athena worked on the research.

"So, there's the three drowning victims this year." Sam states.

"And before that?" Dean questions.

"Yeah, six more, spread out over the past 35 years." Athena states. "Those bodies were never recovered, either."

"If there is something out there, it's picking up its pace." Sam voices.

"So we got a lake monster on a binge?" Dean asks.

Sam inhales, "This whole Lake Monster theory--it just bugs me."

Athena slightly turns to Dean and he looks at her as well. "Why?"

"Loch Ness, Lake Chaplain--there are literally hundreds of eyewitness accounts, but here, almost nothing," Sam explains. "Whatever it is out there, no one's living to talk about it."

Dean points at Athena's screen, "Wait, Bar, Christopher Bar--where have I heard that name before?"

Athena presses her lips together and shrugs her shoulders. She looks over the article, "Christopher Bar, the victim in May." she clicks on the link and a picture pops up with a little kid covered in a blanket.

"Christopher Bar was Andrea's husband, Lucas' father." Sam reads. "Apparently, he took Lucas out swimming. Lucas was on a floating wooden platform when Chris drowned. Two hours before the kid got rescued."

Athena chews on the inside of her cheek, "Maybe we have an eyewitness after all..."

"No wonder that kid was so freaked out," Dean says. "Watching one of your parents die isn't something you just get over."

☆

The car was filled with an uncomfortable silence. Athena was sitting in the Passenger seat while Sam was driving. Her eyes were glued to the window. Sam would glance at the quiet girl every now and then. He knows that he promised Athena that he would wait until the case was concluded to talk to her. But he couldn't wait another second, let alone the next few days.

"Hey, you hungry?"

Athena lets out a quiet breath, knowing what Sam was doing. "Eh--not really." she voices.

Sam looks at Athena, and she was already looking at him.

"I already ate at the Motel. You saw the bags, right?" Athena picks at her bandaids with embarrassment.

"I thought you were better," Sam says.

Athena wraps her arms around her legs and pulls her knees toward her chest. "I thought we weren't gonna talk about it..." she mumbles against her knee.

"Athena--"

"I never said I was better." Athena cuts Sam off. "I never said that I was better and I don't think I ever will be, all right?"

"You could seriously hurt yourself, going down that path." Sam states.

Athena gnaws on her lower lip to keep herself from shaking. "I know that."

"Then why--"

"Because I've never made dad proud," Athena admits.

Sam stays silent, but his grip tightens around the steering wheel. Just hearing the pain in Athena's voice made him regret every choice he's made.

"And he always said that I..." Athena takes a moment to keep herself from crying. "...was big and could've been smaller."

"And I tried to not eat, okay? But then I would get hungry and eat...everything. I found out online about making yourself throw up and I've never stopped since then." Athena explains her eyes on the dashboard. "I'm sorry..." she quietly cries.

Sam shakes his head, "You don't have to apologize, Athena." He quietly sighs. "I should've taken you with me."

Athena gnaws on her lower lip. "Why didn't you? Take me with you?"

Sam stays silent and Athena sinks into her seat. Did he really not have an explanation?

"You remember that night, right?" Sam asks. "When me and dad got into that screaming match?"

Athena swallows and nods her head, "Yeah, I do."

"I...was running on all the rage I had when I left," Sam says. "Everything happened so fast and when he said if I leave I could never come back...everything in my body was screaming for me to leave right at that second."

At an agonizingly slow rate, Athena digs her nails into her arms.

"I'm sorry, Athena." He whispers, pain evident in his voice.

Athena knows that Sam feels guilty and regrets not taking her with him, but she had to face John's wrath all her life. A part of her will always be bitter about that. And Sam knew that.

"Sam it's—"

"And don't say that it's okay, all right? Because it's not." Sam says. "I broke my promise to you and that's not something we do. And I don't plan on doing that any longer. I promise."

"You can't promise that." Athena sighs.

Sam shrugs a shoulder, "I just did."

Athena quietly chuckles, but her smile saddens. Her eyes catch sight of the house coming up beside them. "Uh...Sam?"

"Yeah?" Sam slightly turns his head and he sees the house that had cops and a paramedic.

"So, I think it's safe to say we can rule out Nessie."

Sam and Athena enter the Motel room.

"What do you mean?" Dean looks at his siblings.

"We just drove past the Carlton House." Athena states. "There was an ambulance there. Will Carlton is dead."

"He drowned?"

"Yep, in the sink."

"What the hell?"

"Swear." Athena sits at the table and starts to work on another invention.

"Hell is not a swear." Dean scoffs.

"Okay, Dean," Athena says, but you can hear the smug in her voice.

Dean rolls his eyes. He looks back at Sam. "So, you're right. This isn't a creature. We're dealing with something else."

"Yeah, but what?" Sam questions.

"I don't know," Dean says.

"Water Wraith maybe?" Athena suggests. "Some kind of Demon?"

"I mean, something that controls water..." Dean trails off, something clicking in his brain.

Altogether, the siblings get it. Athena stops working and turns to her brothers.

"...water that comes from the same source," Athena adds.

"The Lake—which would explain why it's upping the body count," Sam continues. "The Lake is draining. It'll be dry in a few months. Whatever this thing is, whatever it wants, it's running out of time."

"And if it can get through the pipes, it can get to anyone almost anywhere." Athena states.

"This is gonna happen again soon." Dean stands up.

"And we do know one other thing for sure. This has got something to do with Bill Carlton." Sam says.

"Yeah, it took both his kids," Dean replies.

"And we've been asking around," Athena speaks. "Lucas' dad, Chris—Bill Carlton's Godson."

"Let's go pay Mr. Carlton a visit,"

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