Mallory had no idea how fast they were going. The only indicators that they were moving at all were the sound of the car's engine and the lurching motion as Claire fought to drive in a straight line. Mal swallowed heavily. She hadn't been in a car since she'd gone blind and now she was realizing why: she was in serious danger of getting carsick.

Fantastic.

Claire was still hyperventilating and Mallory knew she had to calm the girl down before she crashed them or something. "Claire," she said, making her voice even. "Claire, talk to me. Are you okay?"

"No," Claire said, sounding squeaky. "No, very not okay. I'm driving a car and my mom's unconscious and there are demons after us! So not okay!"

"Deep breaths, sweetie," Mal said, taking her own advice. "How's your mom? Is she all right?"

"I don't know!"

"Claire, you have to describe things for me," Mallory said sharply. "Remember, I can't see. You have to see for me. What does your mom look like?"

"Uh...I think she's stopped bleeding. But she's really pale."

"Is she breathing okay?"

"...Yeah. Yeah, she's breathing fine. Is she gonna wake up? I mean, is this normal?"

"She's got a concussion," Mallory told her. "She'll wake up when she can. Right now we just need to concentrate on getting to town. Then we can get help." Normally Bobby didn't encourage contact with the general population of Sioux Falls, but Mallory didn't see how they had any other choice. Freeing one arm from the weight of dog in her lap, she retrieved her phone. It still had no service. She resisted the urge to fling it away in frustration but knew if she did that, she wouldn't be able to find it later.

Crow shifted and whined faintly, thrusting his cold, wet nose against Mallory's neck. She reached up to ruffle his ears. "We're okay, Crow," she assured him. "We're okay."

"Uh...Mallory?" Claire said in a tiny voice.

"What is it?"

"There's a police car behind me, and it's got its lights on."

"Oh, thank God," Mallory breathed. She groped around until her hand came to rest on Claire's arm. "Slow down and pull off to the side of the road," she instructed. "This is good. This is good, Claire. Just stay calm, okay?"

Mal felt the car shudder as they drove off the asphalt onto the gravel shoulder and slowly came to a halt. Claire was shaking, but Mal patted her arm soothingly. "Okay, listen to me. When the police officer comes to the window, roll it down part way. I want the first word out of your mouth to be 'Christo.' If the guy reacts, take off, got it? Tell me, Claire."

"I got it," the girl echoed dutifully.

"Okay. But if nothing happens, let me do the talking."

"Got it," Claire said again. Mal tightened her grip on Claire's arm when she heard the window slid down. Then Claire whispered, "Christo," and Mallory held her breath.

"What in God's name?" exclaimed a deep, male voice. "How old are you, missy?"

Mal let out her breath and leaned over. "Officer, you have to help us!" It didn't take much acting to put the quiver in her voice. "Please, Amelia's hurt and she won't wake up!"

"Slow down," the police officer instructed. "What's going on?"

"I live down the road," Mallory continued in a rush. "With my uncle, Bobby Singer. And there were these men! They attacked us, I don't know why, and they set the house on fire and Amelia won't wake up! We had to get out of there, and I can't drive...Please, you have to help us!"

"All right, all right, just calm down," the officer said. "I'm gonna call an ambulance. Let's get you out of the car and get a look at Amelia, okay?"

"But the men, they're coming for us!" Mallory said frantically. "They're coming and they're going to hurt us!"

"No one is going to hurt you," he replied sharply. "I promise. Now come on, let me help you."

The car door swung open and Mallory felt Claire pull out of her grasp. She pushed open her own door and Crow jumped out, waiting until she got to her feet and grabbed his harness before leading her around the side of the car.

"What's your name, honey?" she heard the officer ask.

"Claire," the girl replied softly. "That's my mom."

"Okay, Claire, don't worry. Your mom is gonna be just fine. The ambulance is gonna be here in a few minutes, okay?"

A large hand grabbed her elbow and Mallory had to force herself not to pull away. "I'm Sergeant Wilson, miss. You said you live with Bobby Singer?"

"My uncle," Mallory repeated. "I'm Mallory." They had perpetuated that fiction to avoid any unsavory gossip after it was decided Mal would stay with Bobby. "Please, they set our house on fire..."

"I've got an engine on its way over," Wilson assured her. "Everything's going to be okay, Mallory."

Wilson was right, the ambulance arrived less than five minutes later. They let Claire ride with her mom, but Mallory followed with Wilson. She leaned forward, her fingers curling in the grate seperating her from the front seat. "Sergeant Wilson, my phone isn't working. Could you call my uncle, please?" she asked. "He's out of town and I really need him home right now."

But Bobby still wasn't answering. Neither were Dean or Sam. Mallory cursed mentally and resolved to whack all three men with her cane when they returned. Oh, damn... She'd left her cane behind. She buried her fingers in the ruff of thick fur around Crow's neck. She put her head down and, for the first time since the demons showed up, let herself indulge in a quiet freak-out.

XxxXxxX

Mallory decided she hated being blind. It wasn't a revelation or anything, she had come to that decision every day for the past month. But right now it really sucked beyond all belief. She was sitting in the waiting area of the local hospital, Crow at her side. Claire wasn't able to sit still, and was pacing in front of Mal, reaching out to touch Mal's arm every time she passed her. Mallory was both grateful and impressed Claire had caught on so quickly.

Someone cleared their throat nearby and Mal jerked her head around toward the noise. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

"Sergeant Wilson?" Mallory asked.

"That's right. Your car's been brought here to the hospital. Ah, if you don't mind, Claire, I think I'm gonna leave these with Mallory." A set of keys were placed in her hand. "You're a brave girl, helping save your mom and all, but you need to get a license before you try driving again, okay?"

"Okay," Claire said meekly, and Mallory instantly decided further driving lessons were in order.

"If it's okay, I've got a few questions for you girls," Wilson went on. "Do you mind?"

"No, no, that's fine," Mallory said, beckoning with one hand. Claire thankfully got the message and came to sit next to Mallory, allowing the older girl to put her arm around Claire's shoulders.

"Well, frankly, I need to know what happened," Wilson said. "Start from the beginning. Tell me everything."

Mallory tightened her grip on Claire slightly, silently telling her to let Mal handle it. "Uncle Bobby went out of town for a few days to visit some friends," Mallory began. "Amelia and Claire stopped by last night. Then this morning...they came. They were throwing rocks through the windows, and then they set the house on fire."

"Can you describe the attackers for me?" Wilson pressed. "Did you know them?"

"No," Mallory said a bit too quickly. "We didn't know them. Amelia wasn't able to tell me much before she was knocked out and Claire..." She hugged Claire tighter again. "Tell him what you saw," she said.

"They were just people," Claire said in a subdued voice. "Just normal people."

"What happened to the house?" Mallory asked, chewing on her lip.

"The firefighters were able to get the fire out in time," Wilson assured her. "There's been some damage, but it's not extensive."

Mallory winced. She knew that most of the weapons were locked in Bobby's panic room (he didn't really trust her after that first night she was blind, locked in the bathroom with a knife), but she could just imagine the reactions of the firefighters to the more exotic of Bobby's various acquisitions. "Any luck getting in touch with Uncle Bobby?" she asked hopefully.

"None, I'm afraid," Wilson replied. "Claire, I talked to your mom's doctor. She's awake and wants to see you. Tricia over here can take you right up."

Claire slid her hand into Mallory's. "Thank you," Claire said softly. "I'd like that."

"Hi, I'm Tricia," the nurse introduced herself immediately. "Is your dog okay with elevators, Mallory?"

Mallory tightened her grip on Crow's harness. "I don't know," she admitted. "He's never been in one before."

"Well, why don't we give it a try? Mrs. Novak is on the third floor."

Mallory had no problem finding her way with Claire and Crow and it turned out Crow didn't mind elevators at all. When they reached Amelia's room, Claire dropped Mallory's hand and hurried forward. "Mom!"

"Claire! Oh, thank God, you're all right."

Mallory thanked Tricia and asked for a little privacy before entering the room herself. Crow led her over to the bed and plopped down on his hindquarters, panting softly. "Amelia, how you feeling?"

"Better. What happened?"

Mal grinned and fumbled for Claire before clapping the girl proudly on the shoulder. "Claire managed to drive us to safety."

"What?" There was horror and disbelief in Amelia's voice. "You let her drive a car?"

"Well, we wouldn't have gotten far if I'd been driving," Mal quipped, still smiling. "But seriously, are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Amelia told her. She lowered her voice and went on, "What do we do next? The demons...they're still after us, aren't they?"

Mallory's grin evaporated. "Yeah, most likely," she said. "No one can get a hold of Bobby and I've even tried Cas. No luck. I'm getting the horrible feeling we're on our own here."

"What do we do?" Claire asked.

"We need to get out of here as soon as we can," Mallory replied. "It's only a matter of time before..." She trailed off when a certain noise came to her attention. "The lights are flickering, aren't they?" she asked bleakly.

"Um...yeah," Claire replied.

"Well, crap."

XXXXX

A/N: Yes, I do realize that these chapters have been rather short and I apologize. I prefer longer chapters myself. *pokes stupid plot bunny* Ow! No biting!

I posted a link at the bottom of my profile that will take you to a picture of what I envision Crow to look like. Thanks for still putting up with me! All of you guys totally rock!