Chapter 2

"Well, well, if it isn't Will Borden."

Sam and Dean looked up at the man that had walked up to their table. Sam's nose wrinkled as he detected the stench coming off the stranger – the man smelled as though he hadn't washed in months. Dean's lips tightened in annoyance at the man's sneering tone, and his gaze roamed over the intruder, from the top of the greasy head, down the long, dust-covered, tan leather coat over a filthy flannel shirt, and onto the muck-encrusted jeans and muddy, worn boots. His eyes traveled to the bowie knife displayed prominently on the man's hip, and he tensed slightly. Sam studied the man's face. At a guess, the young hunter would have put the stranger in the middle-aged category, a similar age to their new companion, until he looked into the cold blue eyes. Those eyes were years older.

Bobby frowned, recognizing the man as a hunter, and a friend of a certain vampire hunter named Gordon Walker. He clenched his jaw and shot a quick glance at the youngest Winchester, knowing that this could mean big trouble for Sam.

"Jimmy. How long has it been, must be about - 10 years?" replied Will calmly. He pushed back his chair and rose to his feet, standing with his back to his daughter.

The Winchester brothers sensed the undercurrent of tension growing between the new arrivals and their companions, and waited for a signal that their help was required. Dean was pretty sure that the father/daughter team could handle themselves, but it paid in their profession to expect the unexpected. He guessed that the Bordens had some history with the hunter, and not a good one, at that. He cast a lightning glance at his brother, and Sam nodded slightly in return, indicating his readiness.

"Yup," The man called Jimmy said. "It's been that long. Hell fire, is that Lizzie? I heard you died when that werewolf attacked you." The new arrival had a thick southern accent, the boys noticed.

"Well you wouldn't know, now would you? You ran like a coward when the first one came out of the woods," replied Lizzie as she got up and stepped to her father's side.

Jimmy growled and stepped closer to the group. Will moved in front of his daughter. Bobby, Sam and Dean pushed back their chairs and started to stand, fists clenching. "Apparently Will and his daughter know Jimmy a little too well,"thought Sam.

The anger in the air was thick, so thick you could cut it with a knife. Silence descended on the roadhouse. The other hunters watched and waited for the show to begin, wondering which side to fight for, should they feel the need to wade into what promised to be an interesting fight. The small group of hunters behind Jimmy tensed, awaiting his lead.

"Well yeah," replied Jimmy, "But that's all in the past, right Willie, right little Lizzie?" He looked around at the group in front of him and smirked. "So, I see you're talking to those Winchester boys." He leaned closer to Will but spoke loud enough to make sure that Sam and Dean heard him. "The younger boy is a freak, just like your daughter. I should have known that you'd meet up with them eventually. Oh by the way, how is your wife," he sneered with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Then all hell broke loose.

Without warning, Lizzie's bony fist shot out, connecting with Jimmy's face and sending him staggering, to tangle his legs with a chair and sprawl to the floor. With a wild yell, the other hunters joined the fray, not caring who was in the right in their eagerness to start throwing punches.

Will spun on his heel and grabbed the first hunter, twisting the man around and holding him in a headlock, while his fist pounded the man's face. He sensed one of the man's buddies coming in from the side and he swiveled at the hips, kicking out against the man's ribs and sending him spinning away from the little group.

Bobby stepped away from the table and completed the spinning man's downfall by kicking his legs from under him, and then kicked him in the ribs again for good measure. "And stay down, dammit!" He growled. Twisting to avoid the mad rush of another hunter, he grabbed the young man's arms and twisted them up behind his back. The young man bent double, trying to get away from the paralyzing grip, and he screamed as something popped in his shoulder. Bobby released the kid, and shoved his boot into the hunter's backside, sending him careening across the floor to connect with the wall head-first.

Dean was having a ball. He stood back to back with his little brother, grinning like a kid in a candy store. He had not had a good fight in awhile so he savored this one for all it was worth. "Sam, down!" He yelled, ducking down as a chair flew at their heads. Sam dropped to one knee, and then lunged to his feet, tackling an approaching hunter around the knees and lifting the man off his feet. The man flew in the general direction of the chair, and landed on a table with a winded grunt. The table toppled, dumping the man to the floor, where he lost all interest in the fight. Dean straightened, still grinning, and launched a kick at an approaching assailant. The toe of his boot snapped the man's wrist and he screamed, dropping the broken beer bottle he had been wielding. The man staggered away, moaning and clutching his wrist, and Dean waded into a pair of the man's buddies, his hard fists flying. One threw a haymaker that would have taken the green-eyed hunter's head off, but Dean threw up his arm and deflected the blow over his shoulder, then his right fist shot out, impacting against the man's belly with a hollow thump. The man turned green and sank to the floor, and Dean turned his attention to the other one. "These guys are hunters?" he thought and smirked, as the man went down. "Sam could have taken these guys when he was five." He turned to see how the others were doing.

Lizzie had Jimmy pinned to the ground. She used her knees to keep his hands away and punched him repeatedly in the face. Meanwhile, Sam had dropped to the floor again, to avoid a broken chair leg swung at his head. His leg scythed out and swept the man's legs from beneath him. The older hunter yelled and hit the floor, rolling to his knees and retaining his grip on the chair leg. Sam kicked him in the gut, driving him to the floor. The chair leg clattered to the floorboards beside the older man as he rolled weakly, groaning. Turning, the young hunter noticed another man coming up behind Will, a chair suspended over his head, his intent plain.

"Will, look out," yelled Sam but he was too late. The chair hit Will in the middle of his back and sent him to the floor where he writhed in pain.

Lizzie heard her father's name shouted and turned just in time to see him go down. "Dad!" she gasped, and pushed herself away from the battered Jimmy, standing and turning toward her father. But the filthy hunter moved faster. He shot to his feet, grabbed her by the wrist and spun her back to face him, then he backhanded her savagely across the cheek. As Lizzie reeled from the blow, Jimmy grabbed her by the hair and wrapped his right arm around her throat.

The sinister sound of two guns being cocked stilled all action in the room. Standing behind Jimmy, guns aimed steadily at his head, were Dean and Bobby, their expressions grim with deadly intent.

"Let her go," warned Dean as he gritted his teeth.

Jimmy hesitated, hearing the cold promise in the quiet tone. Dean took a step forward and pushed his gun into the back of Jimmy's neck. The filthy hunter pushed Lizzie away and turned to face the two men that had their guns on him. He looked down the barrel of the guns and directed his words to Dean. "Gordon was right about your freak brother. I don't know how you got him arrested but it's only a matter of time before me and him meet up with you and your brother again. What we're going to do then is hunt you both down like the bastard dogs you are."

Dean smirked and said, "Fine. Why don't you try – right here, right now? Just you and me." The smirk widened as Dean saw doubt creep into the older hunter's eyes. "Well, I guess it's just like Lizzie says, you're nothing but a coward, just like Gordon. Oh and by the way, the girl did a number of your face. You kind of look like a pursed tomato. How about you leave now and take your unconscious friends with you."

Jimmy grimaced and blew out a breath, looking around at his buddies. "That's it fellas. Let's go. There'll be another time." He waved the hunters out, and then turned with false bravado for a parting shot. "Bye Willie. Bye little Lizzie," he said teasingly as he closed the door behind him.

"Well that was fun," said Dean with a smile. Bobby chuckled a little, and pushed his pistol back into his waistband. Sam knelt next to Will as Lizzie dropped to her knees on her father's other side. "Are you okay," he asked them both as Will stirred, groaning a little.

"Yeah, we're fine, he's just getting old," said Lizzie as she helped her father up. "So, will you guys help us take care of our little werewolf problem? I hope so, because it's a long drive back to Tennessee with nothing to show for it." She looked at them hopefully as she supported her groggy father. Dean looked at her then at Sam, who nodded his head.

"Sure," said Dean. "But I do have one question that I've just gotta have answered."

"Oh, what's that," asked Lizzie, allowing Bobby to take over helping her father.

"Is your name really Lizzie Borden? Like the ax murderer?"

Lizzie laughed and nodded her head.

Dean turned to his bemused brother and raised his eyebrows. "And you thought our family was weird." He grinned.

Sam shrugged, spreading his hands out to his sides. "I was wrong – they're definitely weirder than we are."

The brothers caught up with Lizzie as she walked out the door of the roadhouse. She turned and looked at the tall young hunters. "Hey, thanks for the help in there guys. Jimmy is…how can I put this..."

"A dick?" suggested Dean.

"Yeah you're right," said Lizzie smiling. Her grey eyes were shining with mirth. Sam and Dean noticed that now that the fight was over, she had a shyness about her. She became polite, quiet, and most of the time she only spoke when spoken to. The boys could usually read people very easily. They were taught to do so, but Lizzie, they just could not read. There was something there, just beyond their reach. They had so many questions to ask.

"What was that all about anyway?" asked Sam as he began walking to the Impala.

"A long time ago he and dad did a very stupid thing, and it almost killed me, and when Jimmy asked how my mom was, I don't know. I just lost it. I'm sorry."

"What did they do? What did he mean by calling you a freak?" Dean continued, pushing for answers.

Lizzie looked up when the door to the roadhouse opened and Will and Bobby walked out. She turned her attention back to the boys and said, "I'll tell you later." Sam and Dean both nodded as the men walked toward them.

"Well," said Will, rubbing at the back of his head, "I paid for the damages, and now we can head home." He tossed the keys to Lizzie.

Lizzie caught the keys and said, "Bobby, you coming with us?"

"Not right now," replied the older man, smiling. "I have some research that I need to do for you. A possessed werewolf is not that common. I'll meet up with you soon." After saying their goodbyes, Will and Lizzie walked over to their black '97 Jeep wrangler, while Sam and Dean climbed into the Impala.

The Winchesters followed the Bordens onto the road and started their journey to the Smoky Mountains. Sam opened his laptop and began to research the area they were heading for. Dean looked over to him and asked, "So, what are you thinking about this hunt?"

Sam looked out the window for a moment and replied, "I think it's a legit hunt, but I do wonder why Dad never mentioned these people, why he never mentioned any of them for that matter. First Missouri, then Ellen, now these two? It seems a little strange to me."

"Your spidey sense picking up anything?" asked Dean, knowing that his little brother was not telling him everything.

"I don't know Dean," said Sam with a sigh. "My head says go, but my gut says it's going to be trouble."

"Yeah, me to," replied Dean.

Meanwhile in the jeep, Lizzie noticed that her father was quiet all of a sudden. "Are you regretting involving them, Dad?" she asked.

"A little," replied Will. "We did promise John that we wouldn't involve his sons in anything we hunt." He waited a few minutes and then continued. "But there is no other way." He reached for the headlight switch as night fell, and sighed softly. "Sorry John, but I've got no choice," he thought.

The hunters drove through the dark for a few more hours, before Will called Dean's cell and suggested they pull into the next motel and stop for the night. The elder Winchester agreed, and another twenty minutes' driving found them pulling into a two storey brick building with the Vacancy sign flashing cheerily in the blackness.

Luckily it had a 24 hour diner in it, allowing the starving hunters to grab a much needed and, in Dean's opinion, long-overdue dinner. One chicken salad, a bowl of soup, a steak, and a chili cheeseburger later, they said their goodnights and headed to their rooms.

Sam slept uneasily, tossing and turning as strange dreams disrupted his sleep. Something nagged at him about the hunt, and his subconscious mind tried to latch on to the undercurrents he sensed from their new friends. Around 3AM he woke, feeling a chill in the air. He opened his eyes and pushed himself up onto his elbows, intending to ask Dean why he turned the air conditioner on, but he stopped, the words dying unsaid as he stared in shock at the foot of the bed. Lizzie was standing quietly, clad in green pajama pants and white tank top, and her silence made Sam shiver suddenly. Then his breath caught in his throat and his jaw dropped.

The figure was undoubtedly Lizzie Borden, but as Sam stared, her features blurred as though a gauzy veil hid her from the young hunter. Overlaid onto the auburn haired girl was another figure, her features sharper, her hair blonde, and her eyes a soft blue. Sam frowned as he tried to identify the ephemeral figure. And then Lizzie moved, and Sam froze, his mind reeling, as the dots joined and he recognized her – the movements, the hair, and the eyes – it was Jessica. Feeling shocked, and a little scared, he swallowed convulsively. "Jess?" he asked hesitantly, his voice hoarse.

"Hi Sam," Lizzie said in Jess's voice. Sam just stared, not knowing what else to do.