( THE CONFEDERATE )

CONVENIENCE STORE
[ ☼ ]

       Jeff's body lies on the floor, covered with a bloodstained sheet. Dean, Elena and Sam, dressed in their FBI suits, walk over to it. "So, first the mom goes "Natural Born Killer," and now the son? Well, what do we got – a ghost with an Oedipus complex?" Dean asks and Sam looks at him. "I don't know what that means."

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

       "'Sussex' What is that, another name?" Elena asks.

       "I don't know." Sam says. Garth, who is wearing his Ranger jacket and a baseball cap, finishes talking to a Sheriff and turns to the group. "Hey, what'd the cops say?"

       "Aw, come on." Garth 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."

       "So, what is this, some – some kind of family curse?" Sam asks.

       "Is that Bobby's hat?" Dean asks.

       "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..." Garth says as Dean takes the cap from his head. "...memento. What are you doing?"

      "That's not how you wear it." Dean says and Elena gives him a look.

      "Gentlemen, surveillance is up..." Garth says as Dean tucks the cap under his jacket. "...but something is all screwy with it."

      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. "Must be the camera." The Deputy says.

      "Yeah, thank you, there, Deputy." Garth says.

        "You guys see the head? Ever seen anything like that before?" Dean asks.

       "Like that? No way."

       "So?" Sam asks.

       "So..." Dean says.

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

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

        "Word." Garth says.

        "Awesome." Dean says and Sam looks pleased as he leaves.

SARA ALCOTT'S HOUSE
[ ☼ ]

        Sam and Sara are sitting in chairs on the porch. Sam is drinking iced tea. "Mmm." He hums.

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

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

       "Oh, yes. So sad."

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

        "Well, that is an odd question for the FBI, isn't it?" Sara asks.

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

       Sara laughs. "Yeah. Well, yes. Yes. Me and that old tomcat, Chester, we went to prom together. That's about it." She says.

       "And that's all?" Asks Sam.

       "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." Sara says. "But it just wasn't meant to be. And, uh, a week later, he eloped with Mary."

       "Did you speak much to Mary or Chester again after that?" Sam asks.

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

       "And why do you think that is?" Asks Sam.

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

      "Huh." Sam says.

       "So, if that's all..." Sara says.

       "Yes, uh, thank you very much for your help." Sam says as Sara goes inside and he walks away. He pauses and looks back at the house.

FLASHBACK

MOTEL ROOM
[ ☾]

       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.

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

      "Yeah, I know what you mean." Sam says.

       "You asked me if I lost someone. I did. My husband. He died in Afghanistan eight months ago."

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

      "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." Amelia says. "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.

END FLASHBACK

SARA ALCOTT'S HOUSE
[ ☼ ]

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

MOTEL ROOM
[ ☼ ]

       Dean, Elena 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.

       "Easy there, flyweight. Last time you drank a beer, I had to pick you up off the floor." Dean says.

       "You're such an idjit."

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

       "Whoa, then. Okay. N-none of my business, but... this have anything to do with you and... Sam?" Garth asks.

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

      "Dean..." Elena says.

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

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

      "Yeah." Garth says.

       "Okay." Says Dean.

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

       "You're not Bobby! Okay?" Dean yells. "You're never gonna be Bobby, so stop!"

       "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!" Garth yells.

       "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?"

      "Yeah. I'm on it." Garth says.

       "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." Dean turns the laptop towards Garth and Elena. 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."

      "So, Scott had a beef with Jeff." Garth says.

       "Looks like." Dean's phone rings and he answers it. "Hey, you're on speaker." He puts the phone down on the table.

        "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's house. The remainder of the scene alternates between Dean and Garth in the motel room and Sam outside Sara's house.

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

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

       "Which equals ghost, right?" Elena asks.

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

       "Bobby say anything in there about how we hunt these things?" Sam asks.

       "Uh, the last spectre he encountered Rose shortly after someone desecrated a nearby grave." Garth 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."

       "What?" Dean asks.

CEMETERY
[ ☼ ]

        Dean, Sam, Elena and Garth approach a tomb outside which a uniformed guard stands. "The unknown soldier? You're kidding me, right?" Dean asks.

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

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

       "Yep, but this is the Confederate tomb of the unknown soldier." Garth says. "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 died."

      "Did you learn that in college?" Elena asks.

       "Nope – Civil War re-enactments. Once a year, every year. Don't hate." Garth says.

       "Okay, uh, what about the guard?" Asks Sam.

      "Uh, he's ceremonial. Gone by dusk."

       "So, then we do this tonight?" Dean asks.

       "Yeah."

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

CEMETERY
[ ☾]

       The Impala drives into the cemetery. Flashlights shine on Confederate soldier headstones. Dean, Sam, Elena and Garth approach the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The enter the tomb.

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

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

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

       "So, what? If they never touched this, none of this would be happening?" Elena asks.

       "Yeah, according to Bobby."

       "All right, well, let's get this party started." Dean says as Sam picks up a circle of thin cord from the floor. "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 gun.

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

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

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

       "You sure this will work, even on a spectre?" Garth asks.

        "It's a ghost, isn't it? You burn its bones, the ghost disappears." Dean says. Sam pours lighter fluid over the skeleton and Dean prepares to set it alight. "All right."

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

        Dean looks at Sam. "Sure. We won." He strikes a match and sets the skeleton on fire.

SHERIFF'S OFFICE
[ ☼ ]

       A folder lands on a Deputy's desk. "Write that up for me, would you, Doug?" The Sheriff asks.

       Doug watches the Sheriff return to his desk. "Help!" Scott is in a holding cell, holding a hand to his chest and struggling to breathe. "Please!"

      "Hey. You okay?" Doug asks.

      "Need my... asthma... inhaler. From evidence. Please." Scott says.

        Doug 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 rifle from a cabinet and points it at the Sheriff, who is eating lunch at his desk.

       "Why don't you write your own reports, Sheriff?!" Doug yells as The Sheriff screams and Doug fires.

SHERIFF'S OFFICE
[ ☼ ]

        A crime scene investigator photographs blood on the wall behind the Sheriff's desk. "All right. We're set." A Man says. The Sheriff's body is on a stretcher, covered with a bloodstained sheet. "Let's go."

       "Yeah." The Men push the stretcher away. Dean, Elena, Garth and Sam stand around the Sheriff's bloodstained desk.

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

       "How can you be so sure?" Asks Garth. Dean points to green goo on the Sheriff's tape dispenser. "Ah, what the hell?"

       "Maybe we torched the wrong redneck." Dean says.

       "Or maybe not. Maybe an object was removed from the grave, something the spectre's attaching itself to." Sam says.

       "Like Bobby's flask?" Asks Dean.

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

       "Or they did." Elena says.

       "And this spectre hitched a ride with it." Dean says.

       "And whoever has the object gets possessed." Sam says.

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

        Sam, Dean, Elena and Garth are in a holding cell with Doug. "All right. We need you to focus, Deputy. Other lives depend on it. Tell me what happened after you shot the Sheriff." Sam says.

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

       "And?" Dean asks.

       "He didn't answer me. He just took my gun and walked away." Doug says.

        "Did he say where he was going?" Dean asks.

        "I guess... I must have hurt him, too. He said he was going to the hospital." Dean, Garth, Elena and Sam leave the cell.

        "You two find out what you can about the unknown soldier. Elena and I got the hospital." Dean walks away.

HOSPITAL
[ ☼ ]

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