A/N...well, it's Su nday night in Australia, got this one out a bit quicker than I thought. Next chapter in a couple of days, as usual (I hope!)

Bobby hauled his duffle into the trunk and slammed it shut. "We all packed?" he called to Dean.

Dean shook his head. "Sam's inside watching Days of our Lives or some such shit"

Bobby frowned. It wasn't like Sam to waste time, so chances are he was pulling some last minute research.

As he entered the house Bobby could hear the television on the news channel, rounding the corner he saw Sam perched in front of it, attention on the screen.

He looked up as Bobby entered.

"There's been another one" he said.

Bobby pulled a chair up to sit next to Sam and watched the news footage of the latest slaughter.

After several minutes Dean stormed in, angry at being left to wait outside alone. One look at the faces of the other two and he quietly joined them to watch the news.

"So, three weeks apart? I'd call that escalating" he finally commented.

Bobby sighed. "They were all kids. They've found the remains of most of them, and five adults. They're blaming a rogue bear, even though there hasn't been a sighting of a bear for more than seven years"

Sam stood and stretched. "Well, what else are they going to say?"

"Supernatural being slaughters kids, hunters have been summoned" Dean snarked and turned off the television. "I think we better hit the road. Long drive ahead of us. Anyone need to tinkle?"

Sam frowned at him. "Um yeah, I do"

X

X

X

X

Bobby looked over his shoulder at Sam snoring in the back seat.

"Is he always this gassy when he sleeps?"

Dean grimaced. "Sleeping, waking, walking, talking, doesn't matter what state he's in. His digestive system just runs on overdrive the whole time"

Bobby wrinkled his nose. "How do you sit in the car with him all day?"

Dean shrugged. "Crack a window?"

Bobby chuckled and focused back to the computer opened on his lap. "Well, we've got squat to go on. No DNA, hair or fiber identified from anything other than vermin or scavengers on the victims from three weeks ago. No teeth marks, claw marks or anything that can't be identified as fox or coyote"

Dean rubbed his stubble on his chin and yawned. "Got any ideas, then?"

"Yeah, I got two"

A raised brow from the driver and Bobby shrugged. "Diddly and squat"

"Great. Man, I need a break, and my baby needs gas. What say we pull over next town?"

"Sounds like a valid plan" the older hunter answered.

X

Sam woke and stretched when the car stopped moving. "Where are we?"

Bobby opened his door. "Smallville, Hicksville, something like that. Gassing up and grabbing a meal. You hungry?"

Sam looked out the rear view window at his brother refueling the Impala. "I could eat"

He stepped out of the car to stretch his long legs, and Dean whistled to gain his attention. "You wanna pay, and grab the papers? We can eat once I've filled up."

"Sure thing. You want anything else from here? Road supplies?"

Dean grinned at his brother. "You know what I like. Grab enough to keep us going till next gas stop"

"So, buy out half the store?"

"At least" Dean replied, replacing the gas pump and closing the tank. He walked back to the driver's side and leaned over the car, hands clasped, and raised a brow at Bobby.

"Where you wanna eat?"

Bobby didn't turn back to face him.

"Bobby?"

He walked around the car to the older hunter's side. "Bobby, what is it?"

The older hunter shivered and turned to Dean, his face white. "I just saw…"

"What did you see, Bobby?" Sam asked, coming to stand beside the other two.

"Ellen. I just saw Ellen Harvelle"

Sam looked at his brother, who gave him a tiny shake of his head.

"Where? Where did you see her?"

Sam moved forward to look across the road.

Bobby pointed to the bar across the road. "She just went in there"

Sam looked back at Dean. "Okay. You bring the car around and park, I'll walk over with Bobby and check it out"

Bobby nodded, still white, and headed over the road with Sam. Dean watched them enter the bar, then he started up the car and pulled into the car park at the back of the establishment. There was a rear entrance, so he locked the car up then went to the trunk. He retrieved his gun, holy water and a small bag of salt, some salt rounds and a sawn off that he stuffed into a duffle and slammed the trunk shut.

Rethinking his decision, he re opened the trunk and grabbed a silver knife, this one he tucked in the back of his waistband.

The rear door opened into a dark corridor, Dean followed this to find Sam waiting at the door at the other end, his face dark with concern.

"Where's Bobby?"

"He's at a booth. Dean, she's here. Ellen. I saw her"

Dean looked shocked. "Did she see you?"

Sam nodded, stealing a glance over his shoulder at the bar. "I bumped into her, to see what she'd say. She didn't recognize me at all"

Dean nodded and sat the bag down. He grabbed the holy water, wet his hand down and then coved his damp palm with salt.

"Where is she?"

"At the bar. I'll be right behind you" Sam told him

"Shotgun's in the bag." Dean answered and walked into the dimly lit room.

Ellen was there, true a life, sitting at the bar and drinking a beer. She was dressed funny, in not Ellen like clothes, a pink frilly blouse over three quarter bright green pants, light summery clothing that belied the freezing weather of the day.

Dean bumped into her 'accidently'. "Shirley? Shirley, is that you?"

She turned and looked at him but didn't answer.

Dean held out his hand to shake hers. "Shirley Black, right, Candy's mom? Candy, who works in the 7-11?"

The woman took his hand and shook it. "My name is not Shirley" she answered, "I do not know you"

Dean gave her one of his winning grins. "My mistake, I'm sorry"

The woman turned back to her beer.

"You do look an awful lot like, her, though. You from around here?"

She turned and looked back at him, her face expressionless. "I do not know you". He turned back to face the bar again.

Dean looked at his brother who shrugged.

He smiled at the woman again. "Can I ask you what your name is?"

She looked at him again. "I do not know you. Please leave me alone"

Dean moved away and Sam stepped up to the bar, catching the bartender's eye he ordered three beers. He turned back and pretended to see the woman for the first time. "Ellen? Ellen Harvelle?"

She looked at him, but didn't answer.

"It is you, isn't it?" he asked her.

She gave him the same blank stare she'd given Dean. "My name is not Ellen Harvelle. I do not know you"

The bartender came back with the beer and gave 'Ellen' a sideways glance then rolled his eyes. He mouthed "Crazy" to Sam, and gestured for Sam to meet him at the end of the bar.

"You know her?" he asked Sam.

The tall hunter nodded. "Um, I thought it was someone I knew, I mean, it looks like her"

The bartender, a middle aged man with a crew cut and goatee, faded Led Zeppelin t-shirt and bright red bandanna nodded. "It's probably her. She started coming in about a month ago, same time every day, drinks a beer, talks to no one, and leaves. Mad as a pickle, if you ask me"

Sam nodded. "Anyone ever come in with her?"

"No, always on her own. She takes, like, and hour and a half to drink the beer, then she goes. You guys wanna order a meal?"

Sam frowned. "Yeah, we will. Thanks"

"Sure thing, I'll send the waitress over in a jiffy"

Sam took the beers to the booth and filled the others in.

"No reaction to the salt or holy water, so not a demon, not a revenant, what are we dealing with here?" Dean asked.

Sam shrugged and Bobby frowned. "You guys never actually saw Ellen die, did you?"

Dean leaned across the table, his brow creased. "Bobby, the building blew up. There was no body. Don't you think if Ellen survived, she woulda contacted us by now?"

Bobby shook his head. "Maybe she was injured, you know, lost her memory, or something. She coulda been in a hospital all this time"

Dean nodded. "She could have. But do you really think that's what happened, knowing our history, all the stuff we go through? You really think a hunter copped a break like that?

Bobby looked thoughtful.

"I wanna closer look. I knew her better than both of you, I wanna see if it really is her, or at least, her body."

Dean sighed and made eye contact with Sam, who shrugged. "You think she might get a little suspicious, if we all keep going up to her?"

Bobby's lips thinned. "I'm not a total idjit. I'll approach her a bit different to the way you two chuckle heads did"

The waitress chose that moment to come over and take their orders. After she walked away Bobby pushed his way from the booth and walked to the men's room.

"Whadda yah think?" Dean asked his brother.

Sam stared at the woman at the bar. "Seriously? I got nothing"

"Yeah, me neither. Except that it can't be good." He tipped his beer up and drained half the bottle. "When has anything like this ever turned out to be a good thing?"

Sam gave him a sad smile. "When you came back from hell? When I did?"

Dean closed his eyes. "I don't think an angel resurrected Ellen, then took her memory away"

"Yeah. You're right" Sam agreed. He tapped Dean on the hand to get him to open his eyes, and pointed to the bar.

Bobby walked up to the bar, right next to 'Ellen' and sat down. He ordered from the bartender and turned to the woman and started talking to her.

The conversation lasted longer than had with the brothers, and after a few moments Bobby picked up three beers from the bar and walked back to the booth.

"So, what's the verdict?" Sam asked.

Bobby sat, his face pale. "Looks like evil, smells like evil, I'd say it's evil. It looks a lot like Ellen…just..I dunno, something's different. It's not her. I don't know if it's even human"

Dean sat back, his face thoughtful. "We'll follow it, then. See where it goes, what it's up to. There has to be a reason it comes here every day. I'm thinking it's not the beer"

Sam nodded. "What the hell is it? What is it doing here… Anyone else think it's strange that we just happen to gas up right where this thing is?"

The waitress came over with their meals on a tray. She flirted quite openly with Dean, but he barley glanced at her, thanking her for the plate and then turning away.

Sam noticed but said nothing.

They all ate in silence, taking surreptitious glances at the bar every so often. They ate quickly and finished before the woman at the bar.

The 'Ellen' thing sipped her beer, never turning or moving, talking to no one.

Sam grabbed the duffle from the floor and checked the contents.

"I'll follow Ellen-thing, you guys bring the car up"

Dean shook his head. "This is so jacked. We come out here chasing one monster, and run into another one. I mean, what the hell?"

Bobby wiped his mouth on the brightly colored napkin. "What's new? The way things are at the moment, with mother serving us up new and interesting creatures, I'm not surprised we ran into something else"

Dean lifted his cell phone and snapped a picture of the Ellen creature, but frowned when he looked at it. He lifted his phone and took another, then showed it to Sam.

"What? That looks nothing like Ellen"

Sam pulled out his phone and also snapped a picture, and showed it to his fellow hunters. The all looked confused as the image showed a woman who physically, vaguely resembled Ellen's physique, but looked nothing like her.

The waitress came to clear the table. "Um, miss?" Bobby asked her. "Without seeming too strange, can you describe the woman sitting at the bar?"

She smiled at them, her eyelids fluttering at Dean. "You mean the lady with red hair? She's got blue eyes, freckles, kinda pale. She really looks a lot like my Aunt Cora. I mean, exactly like my Aunt Cora. The first time she came in here I swore it was her. But my Aunt Cora died, like, over five years ago."

Bobby frowned. "Thanks, miss." He threw a few crumpled notes on the tray.

She cleared the table and moved off, leaving the hunters more confused than before.

"So, we're seeing someone familiar to us that died. So is our waitress" Dean shifted in his seat, brain on overdrive. "What's the bet if I asked the bartender to describe her I'd get a perfect description of his dead niece or grandma?"

Bobby nodded. "We got something strange goin' on here. Darned if I can figure it out"

The woman finished her beer and stood, Sam grabbed the bag and pocketed his cell. Dean slipped him the silver knife which he tucked into his jeans.

"Be careful" Dean commanded.

"Always" Sam answered.

"I mean it, Sam"

"I'll go with him" Bobby offered.

"Yeah. That works for me. Thanks" Dean grabbed his keys. Sam rolled his eyes.

"Don't look at me like that, Sam, we've hunted together before"

Sam shook his head. "I don't need a babysitter, Bobby"

"Never said yah did. Thing is" Bobby said as he slid out of the booth "We don't know what this thing is, or what it needs to take it down. Two heads are better than one, two hunters even more so"

Sam shrugged. "Fine. She's leaving. We'd better go"

The two headed out after the Ellen thing and Dean turned to leave the way he'd come. He hadn't gotten two steps down the darkish corridor when something slammed him on the back of the head, and everything went black

X

X

X

X

Holly shivered and pulled the torn sleeping bag tighter around Sherry-Anne and herself, the blonde girl looked across at her, ice crystals in her lashes from the tears she had barely finished shedding.

Holly gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "We'll get out of here. We'll be all right, I know we will. We just gotta keep warm. Okay? Just keep close to me, and we'll get through this together."

Sherry-Anne tried to smile back, but it didn't work. Tears formed in her eyes and her tiny body started to shake with her sobbing. Holly pulled her closer and wrapped her arms around her friend.

"Sshh" she soothed, rocking back and forth.

She tried to sound comforting and brave.

She tried really hard.

But it wasn't easy.

Being stuck in this weird cave, freezing, strange moss on the roof glowing, not knowing exactly where they were or even how they got here….or if anyone else survived.

Before she got knocked out she had seen nearly everyone torn apart.

Surely she and Sherry-Anne couldn't be the only ones that survived.

Could they?

And if they were, why were they alive?

What did that thing want with them?

What was it saving them for?

Oh no.

She just had the worst thought.

What if it was saving them for later….like…like….

Food.

She couldn't help it, she could pretend no longer.

Almost in rhythm with her best friend, she started to sob as well.

A/N...you know what I want...please, can you leave a review? Doesn't cost you anything, and it means so much to me...