Roads Untraveled ~ Sam Winchester

Chapter Ninety-Five - The Thule

"What's cookin', good lookin'?" Eden smirked as she practically skipped into the kitchen, moving over to the other side of the island counter where she leaned up and kissed Sam's cheek.
"Nothing, apparently. Dean's not hungry." He replied as she opened the fridge for a blood bag.
She almost dropped it right then and there.
"Dean..." She frowned, looking over to the older brother who was sat at the table. "The Dean Winchester... Isn't hungry..."
"Not even for pie." Sam added, motioning to the cherry pie he'd bought.
Eden's jaw dropped.
"Are you feeling okay?" She asked, walking over to place the back of her hand on his forehead.
"I'm fine." Dean scoffed, swatting her hand away. "We've got a case. Seems like spontaneous combustion's following us around lately 'cause two people are dead in an antique store because of it."
"Sounds plausibly mundane." Eden commented, sticking the tube of the blood bag into her mouth.
"That's what I said." Sam huffed.
"Yeah, except the only things in the place that were burned was the people themselves." Dean retorted.
"Hm. Curiosity peaked." Eden shrugged. "Still doesn't explain why you're not hungry though."
She looked over to Sam who mouthed 'mom'. She gave a knowing nod in response.

The case took them to Columbus, Ohio, where the cops had already been and gone.
"Looks like we missed the cavalry." Sam commented.
"Oh, no. What a shame." Eden replied in monotone.
"Guess we should go home then." Dean added.
Sam walked up to the store's door, tearing down the police tape. He went to open it, but it was locked. He looked to Eden, waving a hand in the direction of the door.
She smirked, hovering her hand by the lock until it clicked.
"Et voila, gentlemen." She motioned for them to enter first.
Inside, the darkened store looked like some sort of organised chaos. Everything was piled high, but was in sections - a spot for mirrors, a spot for knickknacks and trinkets, a spot for art, etcetera.
On the floor in the centre of the shop were two scorched areas, labelled with police tags.
"Antique dealer's name was Marvin Brickell - widower, owned the shop for decades." Sam referred to his notes as they looked around the place.
"So many decades that it didn't start out as an antiques store." Eden smirked, earning a chuckle from Dean.
"You got something against antique stores?" Sam frowned, an amused expression turning up the corners of his mouth.
"Absolutely not. They're a nostalgia trip for me - the older the better."
Dean took a heavy breath in.
"No sulphur." He commented as Sam took out the EMF reader.
"Ditto EMF." He added.
"Maybe hex bags?" Dean wondered aloud.
"One thing I've learned about antique shops is that they're a goldmine for cursed objects. Maybe that's what we're looking for." Eden suggested.
"God, I hope not." Dean sighed. "If it is, it could be anywhere."
As the older brother ventured to the upper level, Sam walked over to the counter, going through the computer.
Dean ended up touching a model ship, sending it toppling to the ground.
"Dean!" Sam huffed as the older brother struggled to pick it up and put it back where it belonged.
"You're a bloody disaster." Eden giggled, looking up at him through the balcony grating.
"Don't say it." Dean mumbled.
"Maybe let's not touch anything until we figure out if this stuff wants to kill us or not." Sam called up to him.
"Yeah, I got it." The older brother whispered, dropping the model ship yet again.
Eventually, he gave up and continued searching the place.
"Guys, I think I've found something!" He called after a minute or two.
"It looks like the victims were meeting about an antique pocket watch the night they died." Sam said.
"Pocket watch?"
"Yeah, according to Marv's email, at least."
Eden walked round the counter, looking at a picture of a gold pocket watch with a Nazi flag on it.
"I swear I've hunted more Nazis with you two than in the entire Second World War..." She sighed.
"Uh, guys?" Dean called.
"Hold up, get this, I hacked into Marv's hard drive, it looks like he was conducting an entire underground business adhering to, uh-"
"Nazi nut-jobs?" Dean finished for him.
Sam and Eden frowned to one another.
"Yeah... How'd you know that?" Sam asked.
"Might wanna take a look at this." The older brother replied.
The pair walked round to where Dean had disappeared to.
"Yeah, what are you, uh, oh... That's, um... Wow." Sam's eyes widened when he saw an entire secret room filled with Nazi memorabilia.
"Bloody Hell..." Eden gasped, looking around the room.
"Yeah. Looks like Scrooge McDuck lady got her rocks off by collecting Nazi crap." Dean commented.
"Yeah, I guess so." Sam scoffed. "Uh, according to Marv's ledger, the watch belonged to a member of Hitler's inner circle."
"So where is it now?" The older brother asked.
"I don't know." The younger sighed. "Police didn't report finding it and I'm gunna go out on a limb here and guess that it's probably not out there and probably not in here. I mean, Nazi collection? The immolation MO. Sound like anybody we know?"
"The Thule." Dean rubbing his bottom lip in thought.
"The Nazi occultist organisation who found the Hand of God we were after a few months ago?" Eden frowned.
Dean snapped his fingers and pointed to her.
"That's the one."
"Maybe they crashed the party, took the watch and torched the bystanders." Sam shrugged.
"Nazis..." Dean mumbled. "I hate these guys."
"Um... Good..?" Eden chuckled. "So... What next?"
"Go check in to whatever hotel tickles your fancy and get to researching - see if we can find anything Nazi related in the area." The older brother replied.