Author's Note: Thanks for reading guys. Just a warning, some mentions of parental abuse (mother-daughter) in this chapter. I own nothing except my character Alexandra Mary-Janette Winchester.

Chapter 2: Bugs

A few days later, I was sitting in the motel late one evening. Dean and Sam had gone out to a bar; something about Dean wanting to earn some cash hustling pool... whatever that meant. It was just after midnight and I was supposed to be asleep, but my mind kept travelling to my mom. We never had a close relationship, but her recent death still weighed heavily on my mind. Every time I closed my eyes, I'd see her face in my dreams and get jolted awake from the unhappy memories.

In my hands, I held onto the pendant she had given me before she died. It was a silver heart, hung on a thin chain. She'd worn it every day, it had been a gift to her from my father. Now it was mine. Reaching behind my head, I clasped it around my neck, allowing the gentle weight of the pendant to settle on my chest.

Things were still tense with my brothers. They don't speak to me much, and haven't asked any questions about my past yet. I had to start sharing a bed with them, since they refused to let me sleep on the floors in the motel rooms. I longed to be able to hug them, but I knew they were not ready for it yet. They still barely knew me; I was a stranger to them. It was hard for my heart to accept, but it was going to take a while for them to welcome me as their sister. If they ever did...

Lying back against the pillows, I stared up at the ceiling in the dark. I wished dad would pick up his phone. I wanted to talk to him so bad. My mind wandered off, thinking about the way my life had changed in the past couple of weeks. I was jolted from my thoughts when the front door opened. Glancing up, I saw Dean and Sam walk in. "Lexi, what are you still doing up?" Sam asked gently, as he put his bag on the ground.

Dean wandered over to the other bed, and stripped down to his shorts and t-shirt before unceremoniously flopping under the covers. A chuckle escaped my lips as he rolled over, winking at me and Sam. "I couldn't sleep," I answered Sam honestly. "Just thinking about my mom."

The silence was palpable as they took in what I said. So far, I had offered very little information about my mother, but they'd also neglected to ask about her. "Were you and her close?" Sam inquired, pulling off his jacket as he sat down beside me. It never ceased to amaze me how tall he was. Both he and Dean were freakishly tall.

I sighed at his question, my hand reaching up to grasp the silver heart hanging from my neck. "No, we were never close," I murmured softly. I could see Dean looking over in interest. They'd probably wanted to know about my past, but had been too nervous to ask. "My mom, Janette, was strict. Things were always to be done her way, by the book, and everything had to be perfect. My first book was a beginner's guide to monsters. The toys I had as a baby were unloaded handguns. I knew how to make a salt circle before I could walk. I may be only eight, but I feel much older. I was raised to skip childhood."

She took a long breath and thought about what she could say next. "If I ever did anything wrong, I was severely punished. Dad never even knew the lengths that mom went to make me the perfect hunter. Still, she was my mom, and I miss her. You should be happy that you both had Mary for your mom. Dad talked about her all the time. She seems like she would have been a nice mom..." my voice cracked as I trailed off.

Sam took a long breath. "I'm sorry that you were raised like that," he said softly, reaching over to take her small hand in his much larger one. "Things will be different with us though. We are not your parents, so you can have some fun now, between the jobs. We'd like to get to know you better, and not the you that your mom created. The real you."

A smile pulled at the corners of my mouth. Unable to help myself, I reached up and wrapped my arms around Sam's neck. The joy that filled my heart was incredible when his arms came back to hug me. I let out a choked sob. "Mom never hugged me. She said it created unnecessary attachments. She only hugged me when daddy was around."

At that comment, Sam squeezed harder, holding me firmly against his chest. "That's awful," the shock noticeable in his tone. Two hands grabbed me from behind, and I yelped in surprise as I was pulled out of Sam's arms and found myself being hugged by Dean. I shifted so I could wrap my arms around him, burying my face in his neck.

"I've waited to meet you guys for a long time," I whispered, a happy tear making its way down my cheek, which soaked through his t-shirt.

Dean said nothing, just held me tighter against him for a long moment, before tucking me under the covers beside Sam. Rolling onto my side, I held onto Sam's hand as Dean crawled into the other bed and turned off the lamp. "Goodnight guys," he said.

"Goodnight," Sam and I said at the same time. That was one of the best nights of sleep I'd ever had.

xxx

"Lexi, time to get up," Sam's voice broke through the barrier of my sleep, gently rousing me. "Dean's got breakfast."

Blinking wearily, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and sat up slowly. Sam was sitting beside me grinning, already dressed in jeans and a jacket. At the small round table in the corner, Dean was sitting down eating a bagel. He gave me a small wave, and smiled around his mouthful of food, causing me to giggle. His hand latched onto a brown paper bag and lightly tossed it to me.

Tentatively, I grabbed the bag and peered inside. "Yay!" I squealed. Inside was a blueberry muffin from the bakery down the street from the motel. "Thank you!" Grabbing the muffin, I quickly devoured it, enjoying every bite. The two boys laughed at my enthusiasm.

After I finished, I looked up at Sam. "So, do we have a new case yet?"

He nodded. "Oasis Plains, Oklahoma - not far from here. A gas company employee, Dustin Burwash, supposedly died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob."

"Huh?" I tilted my head to the side in confusion. What was that?

"It's the human version of Mad Cow Disease," he explained. "Which is weird, because Mad Cow causes massive brain degeneration. It takes months, even years, for the damage to appear. But this guy, Dustin? Sounds like his brain disintegrated in about an hour. Maybe less."

I shuddered involuntarily. "That's weird, and gross," I said, wrinkling my nose. "You think it's something else?"

Sam nodded as he stood up and grabbed his and Dean's bags. "You get ready, and then we'll hit the road." Jumping out of bed, I grabbed a change of clothes, and darted into the bathroom to have a quick shower and get ready for the day.

xxx

We pulled up in front of the Oklahoma Gas and Power Company building later that morning. Getting out of the car, we approached a construction worker wearing a white hard hat. "Travis Weaver?" Sam asked as we walked up.

"Yeah, that's right," the guy said, turning to look at us.

"Are you the Travis who worked with Uncle Dusty?" Dean asked, lying smoothly. I hoped one day I would be able to lie that easily. All good hunters had to be able to lie.

Travis looked skeptical. "Dustin never mentioned nephews and a niece."

"Really? Well, he sure mentioned you," Dean replied. "He said you were the greatest."

"Yeah," Sam added, nodding to Dean's comment.

Travis smiled at them. "Oh, he did? Huh."

"Listen, we wanted to ask you... what exactly happened out there?" Dean's tone got more serious.

Travis' expression turned haggard. "I'm not sure. He fell in a sinkhole, I went to the truck to get some rope, and, uh... by the time I got back..."

"What did you see?"

"Nothin'. Just Dustin."

"No wounds or anything?" Sam asked, his head tilting a bit.

"Well, he was bleeding... from his eyes and his ears, his nose. But that's it."

"So, you think it could be this whole mad cow thing?" Dean allowed some skepticism into his tone.

"I don't know. That's what the doctors are sayin'."

"But if it was," Sam added, "he would've acted strange beforehand, like dementia, loss of motor control. You ever notice anything like that?"

"No. No way. But then again, if it wasn't some disease, what the hell was it?"

A chill ran up my spine as Dean replied, "That's a good question." I was definitely curious what had killed the man. So little information to go on, and so many different monsters and things out there... how would they ever pinpoint what it was?

"You know, can you tell us where this happened?" Sam questioned. I guess that was where they were headed next, to see if they could find anything by the murder scene.

"Yeah," Travis sighed.

xxx

A while later, we pulled up to the scene of Dustin's death. There was a large sinkhole in the ground, surrounded by yellow police tape. "Huh, what do you think?" Dead asked, looking around.

"I don't know," Sam replied. "But if that guy, Travis, was right, it happened pretty damn fast." They ducked under the police tape and shone their flashlight down into the hole.

"So, what? Some sort of creature chewed on his brain?" I shuddered at the idea. Dean definitely was blunt.

"No, there'd be an entry wound. Sounds like this thing worked from the inside."

Dean looked pensively at the hole. "Huh. Looks like there's only room for one. You wanna flip a coin?"

"Wait, you're going down there?" I asked, shocked. They had no idea what could be down there. Dean picked up a coil of rope.

"All right," he said to Sam, "I'll go if you're scared. You scared?"

Sam rolled his eyes. "Flip the coin," he snapped. Dean laughed and took a coin out of his pocket.

"All right, call it in the air... chicken." Dean tossed the coin into the air, but Sam caught it.

"I'm going."

"I said I'd go."

"I'm going."

"All right." Dean backed off, but I could see the smirk on his face. I could only roll my eyes at the two idiots. Sam began tying the rope around his waist, and I peered down the hole once more, wondering what could be awaiting my brother at the bottom.

"Don't drop me," he said to Dean, just as the elder began to lower him down the sinkhole. Sam was using the wall to help him scale down to the bottom. I bit my lower lip in worry as I shone the flashlight down, giving him some lighting. Glancing up at Dean, I could see him struggling with the weight of Sam as he tried to slowly lower him. Sweat was beading above his brow, and he was taking deep breaths. His arms were locked in a bent position, slowly feeding the rope.

"Be careful Sammy," I said softly, more to myself than anything.

"Don't worry, honey, there's nothing down here." Sam's voice called back up. "Dean, I'm at the bottom."

"Do you see anything?" he called down, looking over into the hole.

Sam was quiet for a moment, and I turned to look up at Dean. "You can pull me back up now."

"Easier said than done," Dean mumbled, causing me to snicker. As Dean began to pull back on the rope, his feet digging into the ground as he leaned back, arms working as he pulled the rope, I peered down and saw Sam scaling the wall with his arms and legs, trying to take some of the load off of Dean.

"I guess I should have gone down," I mumbled. It would have been easier to pull me up. That was one of the things mom told me before she died; I was supposed to make my brothers' jobs easier while hunting, by doing the tasks that they were too big / unable to do. Look out for your family, was rule number 1.

"Not a chance," Dean said between gritted teeth, right as Sam crawled out of the sinkhole. As Dean let the rope go slack, he turned to me. He offered no further explanation, and helped Sam up.

One of Sam's hands was clenched shut, and he opened it to reveal a beetle. I lurched away from him in disgust. I absolutely hated bugs. He snickered at me before he spoke. "There was a few of these guys down there, but that's it. No sign of anything else."

We got back into the Impala and Dean started her up to drive away. "So you found some beetles. In a hole, in the ground. That's shocking, Sam," he said sarcastically.

"There were no tunnels, no tracks," Sam replied, looking at the beetle. "No evidence of any other kind of creature down there. You know, some beetles do eat meat. Now, it's usually dead meat but-"

"How many did you say there were?" Dean interrupted, eyeing the beetle in his brother's hand.

"Ten." I shuddered at Sam's answer. 1 beetle was more than enough for me. It was a good thing I hadn't gone down the hole. I probably would have screamed.

"It'd take a whole lot more than that to eat out some dude's brain."

"Maybe there were more," I chimed in, a shiver wracking my body at the idea of a swarm of beetles eating the guy's brain.

"I don't know," Dean sighed. "It sounds like a stretch to me."

"Well, we need more information on the area, the neighborhood. Whether something like this has ever happened before."

They were driving down a road, when they passed a sign for an open house, brightly decorated with red balloons. Dean's eyes lit up. "What?" Sam asked.

"I know a good place to start," Dean smirked as they passed another sign that read "Models Open. New Buyers' BBQ Today!". "I'm kinda hungry for a little barbeque, how 'bout you?"

Sam gave him a knowing look and I laughed. Dean immediately rushed to defend himself. "What, we can't talk to the locals?

"And the free food's got nothing to do with it?" Sam sounded mildly annoyed with Dean's love for food.

"Of course not. I'm a professional," he protested.

"Right..." Sam rolled his eyes. I was having a hard time holding back my giggles at the pair.

Dean pulled up out front of a massive estate, and I looked up at the houses in awe. Most were still under construction, but they were still impressive. As we stepped out of the Impala, Dean looked around. "Growin' up in a place like this would freak me out," he scoffed.

"Why?" I asked, confused at what the issue was with having a nice home.

"Well, manicured lawns, 'How was your day, honey?' I'd blow my brains out," he replied. Sam smacked the back of his head as I inhaled sharply.

"Dude, could you be more morbid?" Sam snapped. "Besides, there's nothing wrong with normal." Sam gave me a small smile as I shook my head at our elder brother.

"I'd take our family over normal any day," he responded. There was a bit of resentment in his tone, and I wondered if it had something to do with Sam skipping out on hunting to go to college and trying to have a normal life.

They approached the large house and knocked on the door. Within a few seconds, a grey-haired man in a tailored suit answered the door. "Welcome," he said with a smile, looking at the three of them.

"This is the barbeque?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, not the best weather, but... I'm Larry Pike, the developer here. And you are...?" he asked.

"Dean, this is Sam, and Alexandra," he replied, shaking Larry's hand.

"Good to meet you. So, you two are interested in Oasis Plains?" he asked, speaking only to her brothers. I rolled my eyes, totally used to being ignored by the adults.

"Yes, sir," Dean responded.

"Let me just say - we accept homeowners of any race, religion, color, or... sexual orientation."

A loud laugh escaped me before I could clamp my hands over my mouth. This guy honestly thought that my brothers were a couple? And what, that I was their kid? I couldn't stem the flow of giggles sneaking past my lips, earning a look from Sam. Though I could see the humor and disgust in his eyes too.

"We're brothers," Dean didn't hide the disgust in his voice, as his lip curled slightly. "And this is our sister."

Larry looked slightly embarrassed, but Sam spoke next. "Our father is getting on in years, and we're just lookin' for a place for him."

"Great, great," Larry said hurriedly. "Well, seniors are welcome, too. Come on in."

Larry guided them outside to the backyard, where lots of people were walking around, chatting and eating. I was never comfortable with large crowds, so I stuck close behind my brothers as they walked through. "You said you were the developer?" Sam inquired.

"Eighteen months ago," Larry answered. "I was walking this valley with my survey team. There was nothing here but scrub brush and squirrels. And you know what, we built such a nice place to live that I actually bought into it myself. This is our house. We're the first family in Oasis Plains. This is my wife, Joanie." He said, indicating to the woman who came to stand next to him. She was really pretty, with blonde hair and a pink top.

"Hi there," she said, holding out her hand to shake my brothers' hands. I lurked behind, not really noticeable.

"Hi," Dean said, shaking her hand.

"Nice to meet you."

"Sam, Dean, and Alexandra," Larry added. Joanie looked around and spotted me.

"Hi there Alexandra," she held out her hand, which I shook tentatively. There was so many people around, it was making me unsettled. I didn't have much experience in large crowds.

"Tell them how much you love the place, honey. And lie if you have to because I need to sell some houses."

"Right," Joanie said with a smile, as my brothers laughed.

"Boys, will you excuse me?" Larry said, as he walked away.

"Don't let his salesman routine scare you. This really is a great place to live," she added, before an energetic woman with her hair pulled back into a tight bun.

"Hi, I'm Lynda Bloome, head of sales," the woman said, looking at her brothers with what I would describe as: a predatory smile. She looked like a smiling hyena.

"And Lynda was second to move in, she's a very noisy neighbor, though," Joanie chuckled, as she moved to follow her husband.

Lynda laughed. "She's kidding, of course. I take it you two are interested in becoming homeowners."

"Well..." Dean sounded slightly intimidated, verifying my opinion. Hyena. Definitely.

"Y-yeah, well..." Even Sam was nervous.

"Well, let me just say that we accept homeowners of any race, religion, color, or... sexual orientation." I immediately covered my mouth to stifle my giggles.

Dean chuckled half-heartedly. "Right, um... I'm going to talk to Larry." He turned to Sam and smacked his butt as he said: "Okay, honey?"

"Bye, dad," I waved laughing. Dean gave me a hard look, making me laugh more as I turned back towards Sam, who was actually blushing.

As Sam was talking to Lynda, I walked away a little, surveying the people around me. Leaning against the table with my hand, I watched as the people talked with each other, totally unaware that something supernatural had killed someone, and was probably still hanging around.

Something fuzzy touched my hand, and I looked down in shock. Then I screamed. It was a tarantula, that was about to crawl up my arm. Waving my hand to get it off, I shot backwards, tripping over my feet and landing on my butt. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes as I saw a teenage boy laughing loudly before he picked up the tarantula. "Lexi!" Sam shouted, reaching down to help me to my feet. "Are you okay?"

Dean came running out of the house. "What's wrong?" he asked, watching as Sam helped me off the ground.

Everyone was staring at me, some snickering and others looking worried. I brushed their hands off and snapped my shoulders back, trying to keep the tears back for a couple minutes longer. Glaring at the laughing boy, I turned heel and stormed away back towards the front of the house to the Impala.

Stupid fear of bugs. Ever since I was little I'd always been petrified of any insect or spider. That stupid boy, scaring people just for fun. Angry and embarrassed tears spilled over my cheeks as I went to get into the Impala. Putting my hand on the handle, I went to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. Dean had locked the doors.

Grumbling angrily, I sat down leaning against the front tire, hugging my knees close to my chest. It was raining out, and while the backyard had been covered by the awnings they had set up. My hair was wet, and I pressed my face into my knees, ignoring the looks I was getting from people walking by.

After a few minutes, a figure crouched down in front of me, and I stiffened. Looking up, I relaxed when I saw it was Dean, and behind him was Sam. "You okay, kid?" Dean asked.

I nodded. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to freak out. Mom said it was stupid to be scared of bugs that can't hurt you."

Dean scoffed. "Everybody has irrational fears, Lexi. Sammy here is terrified of clowns. He used to cry when he saw Ronald McDonald. I'm scared of flying. Can't stand planes. There is nothing wrong with you being scared of bugs."

I noticed Sam giving Dean an impressed look. Noticing that I was wet, Dean shrugged off his leather jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders, before scooping me up in one fell swoop. Shrieking, I giggled as he stood up. Sam smiled and opened up the door to the Impala, and Dean tucked me in the front seat in the middle.

They got in on either side of me, and I was firmly pressed between the two of them. Leaning against Sam's shoulder, I couldn't keep the silly grin off my face as we drove off.

xxx

That evening, Sam was driving through the neighborhood while Dean was sifting through Dad's journal, looking for anything that might hint at what could have done the killings here in Oklahoma. I was tucked up in the back seat, trying to keep my eyes open to hear what they were discussing.

"You know, I've heard of killer bees, but killer beetles? What is it that could make different bugs attack?" Dean asked, as he flipped another page of the journal.

"Well," Sam mused. "Hauntings sometimes include bug manifestations."

"Yeah, but I didn't see any evidence of ghost activity," Dean's voice grew quiet as he skimmed the page.

"Yeah, me neither," Sam drawled.

"Maybe they're being controlled somehow. You know, by something or someone." This hunt was really going to suck if it was them hunting something controlling bugs. I couldn't suppress the shudder at the idea of bugs being control by some malevolent being.

"You mean, like Willard?"

"Yeah, bugs instead of rats."

Sam sighed. "There are cases of psychic connections between people and animals - elementals, telepaths."

"Yeah, that whole Timmy-Lassie thing-."

"That kid, he's got bugs for pets," I interrupted, subconsciously wiping my hand that the tarantula had touched.

"Matt?" Sam questioned, thinking about it.

"Yeah, he did try to scare you with a tarantula. Makes sense," Dean agreed. "You think he's our Willard?"

"I don't know," Sam muttered. "Anything's possible, I guess."

"Oh, hey. Pull over here."

Sam pulled the Impala over into an empty driveway of one of the Oasis Plains homes. This one was uninhabited, but had finished construction. "What are we doing here?" Sam questioned, shooting a look at Dean.

Dean stepped out of the car. "It's too late to talk to anybody else."

"We're gonna squat in an empty house?" Sam sounded appalled at the idea, but I couldn't help being excited. The house was massive, and it would be nice to sleep in a real home.

"I wanna try the steam shower. Come on," Dean looked absolutely excited, but rolled his eyes when Sam didn't move. "Come on!"

Reluctantly, Sam pulled the car into the garage, and Dean shut the massive door behind them.

The first thing I did, was collapse on what of the beds in the upstairs bedroom. It had been a very long day, and being traumatized by a tarantula made it all the more stressful. It didn't take me very long to fall asleep, but it was anything but restful. The room felt too big and lonely for just myself.

Early the following morning, I woke up to Sam was banging on the bathroom door, where Dean was enjoying the steam shower. "You ever comin' out of there?" he called into Dean. I rolled my eyes. Was Sam wanting to try out the fancy shower too?

"What?" Dean shouted back, agitation in his voice.

"Dean, a police call came in on the scanner." I sat up at that, and walked out to stand next to Sam. He smiled down at my disheveled appearance, and reached up to smooth down my hair.

"Hold on," Dean called back, and I could hear him fussing around in there.

"Someone was found dead three blocks from here. Come on." I stiffened at that. Another dead body.

Dean poked his head out of the bathroom door, smiling at the two of them, and looking ridiculously dorky with a towel wrapped around his head. "This shower is awesome," he chuckled. I guess he's used to hearing about bodies being found. It didn't even faze him anymore. Shuddering, I couldn't help but wonder if I would ever get that used to hearing that someone died. Though, in this line of work, it was a staple.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Come on." Putting a hand on my shoulder, he guided me down the stairs.

xxx

We ended up driving over to where the cops had fenced off one of the estates. I could see a body bag on a stretcher being carried out by a couple of coroners, and I felt mildly nauseous. Getting out of the car, Dean and Sam opened up two umbrellas to cover them from the rain. Sam put an arm over my shoulder, tucking me under the umbrella with him. I looked up at him gratefully as we walked up to where Larry was standing, looking a little pale as he hung up his phone. "Hello. You're, uh... back early," he said.

"Yeah," Dean explained, "we just drove in, wanted to take another look at the neighborhood."

"What's goin' on?" Sam asked.

Larry opened his mouth and appeared to think for a moment before he answered. "You guys met, uh... Lynda Bloome at the barbeque?"

"The realtor." Sam's eyes widened.

"Well, she, uh... passed away last night."

The boys' expression turned to one of shock, and I tucked closer into Sam's side. She'd died three blocks down from us. Were we lucky that we never got attacked too?

"What happened?" Dean asked, shell shocked.

"I'm still trying to find out. Identified the body for the police. Look, I-I'm sorry, this isn't a good time now." I felt bad for the guy. Dead people kept showing up on his development project.

"It's okay," Sam said.

"Excuse me." Larry turned and walked back towards where the police were talking by the front door of Lynda's house.

"You know what we have to do, right?"

"Yeah," Sam sighed. "Get in that house."

"See if we got a bug problem." At Dean's words I shuddered, and he looked down at me. "You go wait in the Impala and we'll be back soon."

xxx

"What did you find?" I asked my brothers when they got back into the Impala twenty minutes later.

"Spiders," Dean answered. I gagged a bit. Death by spiders. That would have to be one of the worst ways to go.

"She was killed by spiders?" I had to ask.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, there was a lot of them from the looks of it."

"Well this has to be the worst hunt ever," I remarked, leaning against the window and watching as we pulled away from the house.

We ended up grabbing a bite to eat at a restaurant in town before driving around town later in the afternoon. As we pulled up at a curb, we could see Matt getting off a school bus and start walking. "Isn't his house that way?" Dean pointed in the other direction.

"Yup," Sam agreed. We looked at him in confusion.

"Where is he going?" I asked. We got out of the car and began to follow him, surprised when he went into the woods and began looking at a grasshopper.

"Hey, Matt. Remember me?" Matt looked up startled when Sam spoke.

"What are you doin' out here?" Matt asked, and I could catch the defensiveness in the tone.

"Well, we wanna talk to you," Dean explained. I remained between my brothers, eyeing the grasshopper on Matt's hand nervously. How someone could hold an insect so calmly blew my mind.

"You're not here to buy a house, are you?" When Dean shook his head, the boy looked nervous. "W-wait. You're not serial killers?"

I burst out laughing with my brothers. "No, no. No, I think you're safe," Sam chuckled.

"So, Matt... you sure know a lot about insects," Dean said, hinting at the topic he was about to bring up.

"So?" Matt's eyebrows furrowed together as he glanced at the grasshopper crawling on his arm.

"Did you hear what happened to Lynda, the realtor?" Dean inquired.

"I hear she died this morning."

"Mm, that's right. Spider bites."

Sam spoke up. "Matt... you scared our sister with a spider."

"Wait. You think I had something to do with that?" Matt looked shocked and immediately went on the defense. He looked at me, and I glared at him.

"You tell us," Dean sounded impatient.

"That tarantula was a joke. Anyway, that wouldn't explain the bee attack or the gas company guy."

"You know about those?" Sam sounded shocked.

"There is something going on here. I don't know what... but something's happening with the insects. Let me show you something." Matt picked up his backpack and led them to another area.

"So, if you knew about all this bug stuff, why not tell your dad? Maybe he could clear everybody out," Sam asked as they walked.

"Believe me, I've tried. But, uh, Larry doesn't listen to me."

"Why not?"

"Mostly? He's too disappointed in his freak son."

Sam scoffed. "I hear you."

Dean turned to him in surprise. "You do?" Even I was confused. They'd hinted that dad and Sam's relationship was rocky, but I didn't know to what extent.

Sam shot Dean a look before turning back. "Matt, how old are you?"

"Sixteen," the boy answered.

"Well, don't sweat it, 'cause in two years, something great's gonna happen." I looked up at Sam in surprise. Was he really that mad with dad?

"What?" Matt sounded disbelieving.

"College. You'll be able to get out of that house and away from your dad."

"What kind of advice is that?" Dean sounded pissed, and I had to agree with him. "Kid should stick with his family."

Sam sighed and glared at Dean. "How much further, Matt?"

"We're close."

A few minutes later, we reached a large clearing. The sounds of hundreds of different insects met my ears from among the trees. Instinctively, I latched onto Dean's sleeve. Reaching down, he grabbed me from underneath my shoulders and propped me up on his hip, my arms wrapping around his neck in surprise at being lifted. "Don't worry, they won't get near you," he said softly.

"Thank you," I murmured, relaxing into his hold, and trying to ignore the sound of all the bugs.

"I've been keeping track of insect populations," Matt explained. "It's, um, part of an AP science class."

"You two are like peas in a pod," Dean commented.

"What's been happening?" Sam asked Matt, ignoring Dean's comment. I could sense some tension building between my brothers, and I didn't like it.

"A lot. I mean, from bees to earthworms, beetles... you name it. It's like they're congregating here."

"Why?" Dean asked.

"I don't know."

Sam pointed to a dark patch of grass a few feet away. "What's that?" They walked over to it, and I screeched when I saw it was hundreds of worms. When Dean stepped on some, they fell into the ground, creating a hole. I clung to him tighter, wrapping my legs around his waist and burying my face into his neck. He tightened his hold on me while Sam stepped forward to poke around in the hole.

"There's something down there," Sam said. Peeking over, I watched Sam pull out a human skull, covered in dirt and worms. I gagged, and pressed my face back into Dean's neck.

xxx

Later on that day, we pulled up out front of a local university. Sam had pulled up more bones, and had put them in a box, deciding to bring them here, since there was more than one skeleton. Stepping out of the car, Sam grabbed the box. "So, a bunch of skeletons in an unmarked grave," Sam mused.

"Yeah," Dean muttered. "Maybe this is a haunting. Pissed off spirits? Some unfinished business?"

"But why bugs?" I couldn't hide the disgust from my tone.

"So, with that kid back there..." Dean said to Sam. "Why'd you tell him to just ditch his family like that?"

"Just, uh... I know what the kid's goin' through," Sam sounded like he'd rather be talking about anything else. I could feel a fight building, and my stomach twisted. I didn't want them to fight.

"How 'bout telling him to respect his old man, how's that for advice?"

"Dean, come on!" Sam sighed as they both stopped walking and turned to look at each other. "This isn't about his old man. You think I didn't respect Dad. That's what this is about."

Dean rolled his eyes and looked away. "Just forget it, alright? Sorry I brought it up."

"Guys..." I murmured quietly, but was ignored by both.

"I respected him. But no matter what I did, it was never good enough."

"So, what are you saying? That Dad was disappointed in you?"

"Was? Is. Always has been!" Sam was starting to get agitated.

"Guys, please don't start fighting," I said softly.

Dean spared me a glance, but turned back to Sam. "Why would you think that?"

"Because I didn't wanna bow hunt or hustle pool - because I wanted to go to school and live my life, which to our whacked-out family, made me the freak." Sam's tone was getting louder, and I put myself between the boys.

Dean sounded tired. "Yeah, you were kind of like the blonde chick in The Munsters."

"Dean, you know what most dads are when their kids score a full ride? Proud. Most dads don't toss their kids out of the house." I froze at that. Dad kicked Sam out because he got into college. Was he really that petty?

"I remember that fight. In fact, I seem to recall a few choice phrases comin' out of your mouth."

"You know, truth is, when we finally do find Dad... I don't know if he's even gonna wanna see me." I felt bad for Sam at that moment, and reached up to grab his free hand that wasn't holding onto the box. He smiled sadly down at me, as if just realizing I was still here.

"Sam, Dad was never disappointed in you. Never. He was scared."

"What are you talking about?" Sam sounded genuinely puzzled. Even I was. Dad wasn't scared of anything, he was the bravest person I knew.

"He was afraid of what could've happened to you if he wasn't around. But even when you two weren't talking, he used to swing by Stanford whenever he could. Keep an eye on you. Make sure you were safe."

"What?"

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me any of that?" Sam asked angrily.

"Well, it's a two-way street, dude," Dean said wearily. You could've picked up the phone. Come on, we're gonna be late for our appointment." Turning around, Dean walked away. Sam moved to follow but I stopped.

"I'll wait in the car," I muttered, turning and walking back to get into the Impala. I heard Sam sigh before he followed his brother. Fighting family members always made me unsettled. Mom used to fight with me so much. Our relationship was wrecked because I could never amount up to be what she wanted of me. I didn't want to see Sam and Dean torn apart like that.

xxx

When the boys got back to the Impala, they stayed quiet, neither speaking up about what had occurred. I noticed that we were heading out of town, and I had no idea where we were going, but I was too stubborn to ask. My mind kept wandering to the last fight I had had with my mother. The fight that wrecked our relationship, and then she died before we could mend things up.

I had been training with throwing knives, but I could hardly pay attention to the target as I launched knife after knife at the red board. Mom had told me father was coming for a visit in a few days, and I was so excited to see him. Things were always so much nicer when he was around.

"That is pathetic," a loud voice shouted from a few feet away. Turning around swiftly, I was shocked to see my mom standing there, watching my bad aim.

"Yes, ma'am. Sorry, I got distracted," I murmured, looking down at my feet. Eye contact always made her angry when I did something bad. I was to look down in submission respectfully.

"Distracted?" she scoffed. "What happens when you get distracted on a real hunt? You could end up getting someone killed? Or worse, you could miss your target and you could kill someone. There is no room for mistakes such as this when you're hunting."

"I know, but-"

"NO EXCUSES!" she shouted. I stiffened immediately. She walked over and plucked my knives from the target board and tossed them at my feet. "You'll put your brothers in an early grave with your hunting skills. Your father would be ashamed."

I blushed darkly, and picked up one of the knives. Launching it straight, it hit the dead center of the target. "There, happy now?" I said snarkily.

I shouldn't have said it. Deep down I knew what was going to happen when I said it, but yet I still decided to be sassy. A loud slap echoed the room as her hand met my cheek. The familiar sting burned the side of my face.

That was a typical bad training day with mom. She never found my work good enough, and would always get angry quickly. I didn't want Sam and Dean to be like that, angry with each other all the time.

The drive was quiet, and after a good hour, we pulled up out from of a diner. We got out silently, and walked inside. There was a Native American man playing cards at a table. "Joe White Tree?" Sam asked. The man nodded in response. "We'd like to ask you a few questions, if that's alright."

"We're students from the university," Dean added.

"No, you're not. You're lying," Joe said, eyeballing Dean. We were all taken aback.

"Well, truth it-"

Joe interrupted him. "You know who starts sentences with 'truth is'? Liars." Dean exchanged a look with Sam.

"Have you heard of Oasis Plains? It's a housing development near the Atoka Valley," Sam inquired.

"I like him, he's not a liar." Joe said to Dean. He turned back to Sam. "I know the area."

"What can you tell us about the history there?"

"Why do you wanna know?"

"Something... something bad is happening in Oasis Plains. We think it might have something to do with some old bones we found down there - Native American bones."

"I'll tell you what my grandfather told me, what his grandfather told him. Two hundred years ago, a band of my ancestors lived in that valley. One day, the American cavalry came to relocate them. They were resistant, the cavalry impatient. As my grandfather put it, on the night the moon and the sun share the sky as equals, the cavalry first raided our village. They murdered, raped. The next day, the cavalry came again, and the next, and the next. And on the sixth night, the cavalry came one last time. And by the time the sun rose, every man, woman, and child still in the village was dead.

They say on the sixth night, as the chief of the village lay dying, he whispered to the heavens that no white man would ever tarnish this land again. Nature would rise up and protect the valley. And it would bring as many days of misery and death to the white man as the cavalry had brought upon his people."

The old man's story made sense. I looked up at my brothers, curious if they were thinking the same thing I was. Then Dean spoke up, verifying my thoughts. "Insects. Sounds like nature to me. Six days."

"And on the night of the sixth day, none would survive," Joe added. Dean and Sam exchanged a look, while I shuddered. Matt and his family were in danger.

xxx

As we walked back to the car, Sam spoke up. "When did the gas company man die?"

"Uh, let's see, we got here Tuesday, so, Friday the twentieth," Dean responded.

"March twentieth?" Sam asked. "That's the spring equinox."

"The night the sun and the moon share the sky as equals," Dean mused. I looked up at him. I wanted to put in my opinion, but my silent treatment was going strong, so I kept my mouth closed.

"So, every year about this time, anybody in Oasis Plains is in danger. Larry built this neighborhood on cursed land."

"And on the sixth night - that's tonight."

"If we don't do something, Larry's family will be dead by sunrise. So how do we break the curse?"

Dean opened the car door. "You don't break a curse. You get out of its way. We've gotta get those people out now." He climbed inside, Sam and I following his lead.

xxx

As Dean was driving back toward Oasis Plains, he dialed Larry. "Yes, Mr. Pike, there's a mainline gas leak in your neighborhood."

I could hear the sound of Larry speaking on the other end.

"Well, it's fairly extensive. I don't want to alarm you, but we need your family out of the vicinity for at least twelve hours or so, just to be safe." He went quiet for a minute. "Travis Weaver. I work for Oklahoma Gas and Power."

Dean's face turned sheepish. "Uh..." panicking, he hung up the phone.

"Give me the phone," Sam said as he snatched the phone from his brother. He quickly dialed a number and held it up to his ear. "Matt, it's Sam."

"Matt, just listen. You have to get your family out of that house right now, okay?" Matt said something through the line. "Because something's coming."

I shuddered. "Yeah, a lot more," Sam replied to Matt. "You've gotta make him listed, okay?"

"Give me the phone, give me the phone," Dean snapped, plucking the phone from Sam's grasp and put it up next to his ear. "Matt, under no circumstances are you to tell the truth, they'll just think you're nuts- Tell him you have a sharp pain in your right side and you've gotta go to the hospital, okay?"

He snapped the phone shut and turned to Sam. "Make him listen? What are you thinking?" I had to agree with Dean on this one. No way should Matt tell his father that thousands of bugs were coming for his family. That's a one-way ticket into a psychiatric facility.

xxx

Not long after, we pulled up outside Larry's house. I saw Larry glance out the window at us, an angry look on his face. He quickly stormed outside as Dean cussed. "Damn it, they're still here. Come on."

We got out of the car, Matt coming over to join us. "Get off my property before I call the cops," Larry threatened.

"Mr. Pike, listen," Sam said, trying to calm the situation before it elevated.

Matt pushed his way in front. "Dad, they're just trying to help."

"Get in the house," Larry yelled at his son. I winced at the sharp tone in his voice.

Turning to look at us, Matt's face turned desperate. "I'm sorry. I told him the truth."

"We had a plan, Matt, what happened to the plan?" Dean asked.

"Look," Sam pointed to his watch. "It's 12:00 AM. They are coming any minute now. You need to get your family and go, before it's too late."

"Yeah, you mean before the biblical swarm," Larry snapped sarcastically. I rolled my eyes at his stupidity. He could very well get his whole family killed tonight because of his naivety.

"Larry," Dean's tone was firm. "What do you think really happened to that realtor, huh? And the gas company guy? You don't think something weirds goin' on here?"

"Look, I don't know who you are, but you're crazy. You come near my boy or my family again, and we're gonna have a problem."

"Well, I hate to be a downer, but we've got a problem right now," Dean was getting more and more impatient. Even I was starting to get fidgety, knowing that a swarm of insects was coming to kill us.

"Dad, they're right, okay?" Matt shouted. "We're in danger."

"Matt, get inside! Now!" the man screamed at his son. I felt pity for the boy, knowing what it was like to be yelled at by a parent and being unable to defend yourself.

"No! Why won't you listen to me?"

"Because this is crazy! It doesn't make any sense!"

Sam intervened. "Look, this land is cursed! People have died here. Now, are you gonna really take that risk with your family?"

I tugged on Dean's sleeve, my face growing pale as a sound met my ears. "Wait," Dean interrupted them. "You hear it?"

"What the hell?" Larry asked, listening to the growing sound of insects. The fluorescent bug light on the porch began to overheat, killing several bugs at the same time.

"All right, it's time to go. Larry, get your wife," Dean said as he reached down and picked me up. I was beginning to shake, my mind shutting down in utter fear.

"Guys," Matt said, pointing up. We all turned our gazes up to the sky, and my heart dropped. Millions of bugs were flying towards the house, blanketing the entire sky.

"We'll never make it," Sam said, having to talk louder to be heard over the growing buzz. Frightened tears spilled as I buried my neck into Dean's shoulder, shaking like a leaf.

Dean tightened his grip. "Everybody in the house. Everybody in the house, go!" They took off into the house, Dean carrying me tucked against his chest. I heard the door slam behind us.

"Okay, is there anybody else in the neighborhood?" Sam quickly asked.

"No, it's just us," Larry answered, his voice shaking a bit. Not that I blamed him.

Joanie entered the room. "Honey, what's happening? What's that noise?" she asked, sounding worried.

"Call 911. Joanie!"

"Okay." She picked up the phone and dialed.

Dean placed me down in a corner. "Stay here, don't move," he said before standing up. "I need towels."

"Uh, in the closet," Larry answered, confused.

Sam nodded. "Okay, we've gotta lock this place up, come on - doors, windows, fireplace, everything, okay?" Sam and Matt took off upstairs.

"Phones are dead," Joanie said, panic evident in her tone.

"They must have chewed through the phone lines," Dean said as he stuffed towels at the base of the front door. Then everything went black as the power went out. "And the power lines."

"I need my cell," Larry's tone was getting more hysterical. "No signal."

"You won't get one. They're blanketing the house." At Dean's comment, I began to rock back and forth, reaching up to cover my ears to try and block out the buzzing. This was like something out of my darkest of nightmares. Millions of bugs were collecting on the doors and windows, covering the entire building.

"So, what do we do now?" Larry asked nervously.

"We try to outlast it. Hopefully, the curse will end at sunrise," Sam answered, reaching down and scooping me up. Grateful for the contact, I clung to his jacket and buried my face into his chest.

"Hopefully?" Larry's voice cracked.

Dean walked out of the kitchen carrying a can of bug spray and returned to the living room. He cast a worried glance at me in Sam's arms.

"Bug spray?" Joanie asked skeptically.

"Trust me," Dean answered. A loud creaking noise came from the far wall.

"What is that?" Matt gulped.

"The flue," Sam's eyes widened, and he tightened his grip on me.

"Sammy," I whimpered, wishing I could disappear.

"All right, I think everybody needs to get upstairs," Dean shouted. Before they could move, thousands of bugs came swarming into the living room, surrounding them. Everybody started screaming and shouting, include myself. I caught the sight of flames, and noticed Dean using a lighter with the can of bug spray to make it flare up. "All right, everybody upstairs! Now! Go, go, go!"

Sam ran up the stairs and into the attic with me clinging to him like a monkey. Dean slammed the door behind them. They crouched down, and after a moment, sawdust began to fall from the ceiling as the buzzing got louder.

"Oh, God, what's that?" Joanie shrieked.

"Something's eating through the wood," Dean answered.

"Termites," Matt exclaimed.

"Alright, everybody get back," Dean shouted. "Get back, get back, get back!"

Bugs pooled in through a hole in the ceiling, and I felt Sam's arm come up to cover as much of me as he could. His other arm was waving around frantically. I was screaming, so much that I was sure Sam would be deaf in his left ear if we survived this. Tears streamed down my cheeks, soaking his jacket. I could feel the bugs crawling on me, buzzing by my ears. Another body pressed against me from behind, and the smell of leather met my nose. Dean was also trying to cover me.

I screamed for a long time, until I felt Dean step back. The buzzing had stopped. I stopped screaming, but my whole body was shaking tremendously, unable to stop. The sun had risen, and the bugs had left. "She ok?" Dean asked.

"No," Sam murmured, his hand running over my back gently, trying futilely to relax me. "She'll be fine though. She's a Winchester." Those three final words meant the world to me.

xxx

A little while later in the morning, Dean and Sam approached Larry. I was sitting in the front seat of the Impala, still trembling lightly as I watched them. "What, no goodbye?" I heard Dean ask.

"Good timing," Larry replied. "Another hour and we'd have been gone." He shook both of their hands.

"For good?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. The development's been put on hold while government investigates those bones you found. But I'm gonna make damn sure no one lives here again."

"You don't seem too upset about it."

"Well, this has been the biggest financial disaster of my career, but... somehow, I really don't care," Larry said, looking over at Matt. Then his gaze turned to me in the Impala. "Is she going to be alright?"

"Yeah, she's tough," Dean said, sending me a quick smile, before looking back to Larry. Both of my brothers walked back to the car and climbed in on either side of me. I leaned into Sam's side, relaxing when his arm went around me to tuck me closer into his side.

"I wanna find Dad," Sam sighed.

"Yeah, me too," Dean exhaled, looking down at me as I nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, but I just... I want to apologize to him."

"For what?" Dean sounded surprised.

"All the things I said to him. He was just doing the best he could."

"He'll forgive you Sammy," I said softly, earning a gentle squeeze from him.

"And then within five minutes, you guys will be at each other's throats," Dean chuckled.

Sam laughed too. "Yeah, probably. Let's hit the road."

"Let's," Dean agreed, as he sped off away from Oasis Plains.