The yellow light from the street lights hit Kristen's closed eyes in waves, causing her to wake up. The roar of the engine shook the car as it sped down the street. The ride was smooth, leaving a calming sensation flow through her body. She almost thought she had jumped back in time to her childhood and left with her family on another road trip until she remembered where she was. She opened her brown eyes warily, exhaustion still hanging over her like a rain cloud. Her dark hair had been pulled up into a ponytail and her hand pulled at the loose strands underneath the weight of her head. Lots of trees passed by, blurring together as they came and went. Slow music played on the radio and she could hear Sam's soft humming on her left. Kristen rolled over and sat down in the seat correctly, blinking a few times in an attempt to wake herself up.

"You finally awake?" Sam asked and glanced over at her. He drove calmly, but not relaxed. He sat up straight, his hands firmly on the steering wheel. His body tensed up when he recalled the rescue mission and shook his head slightly to push the thought away for a few minutes.

"Yeah," she stretched her arms out and yawned. Her rib cage still hurt immensely, so she tried not to stretch her muscles out too much. Her head wasn't pounding and the pain in her skull disappeared, which was at least one blessing for her to count. Not too many blessings these days. "You've been driving this whole time?"

He nodded and kept his eyes on the road. "After the doctor cleared you to sleep, you passed out. You have major bruising and a cracked rib, but other than that, you're fine. You didn't have medical insurance, so they couldn't keep you there." He grabbed a water bottle from the cup holder without breaking his stare and handed it to her. "I still want to help you, Claire."

Kristen almost questioned the wrong name usage until she remembered her lie from when she met him. Giving him a fake name might have been a bad idea, but it seemed good at the time. She opened the bottle and took a long drink. "You're a hunter. Right? Living out of your car, always on the road…" She trailed off and capped the bottle.

He nodded subtly and replied, "Yeah. You?"

"Yeah."

Sam snorted, "You must have really pissed someone off if you don't remember the last day or so." Kristen stayed silent and ran a hand through her hair stressfully. Sam noticed the tension thickening and adjusted himself in his seat. "We're going to get something to eat," he declared and pulled up to the first diner he saw.

It was a little run down and the paint chipped away on the walls. Four cars parked close to the door, while the rest of the parking lot was empty. A white lit sign hung above the door that read Hatsie's Diner. Sam held the door open for Kristen and she walked inside, looking around the place as she did. Red leather cushions lined the wooden booths and stools. Music floated through the air from an old radio sitting on the counter. Customers ate and chatted above the sound of the music and laughed every now and then.

Sam and Kristen seated themselves and skimmed the menu in silence. The young waitress came and took their order, bringing their food back to them within ten minutes. Sam eyed Kristen's food, which filled the plate to the brim. He stifled a laugh and took a sip of his water.

"I'm a hunter, okay? Every meal has to be worth it because I don't know if it'll be my last," Kristen explained herself. She didn't care if he judged her, but he might as well know her reasoning. She took a bite of her food and groaned in satisfaction. The first sustenance she's had in over twenty-four hours tasted like the best thing she's ever had.

Sam put his hands up in defense, "Okay, you got me there." He set his hands down on the table top and studied her, trying to figure out what her story was. She must have upset the wrong people to end up almost dying in the forest. When he found her, she had soil entwined in her hair, so she had been buried alive at some point, just waiting for death to take over. The more he thought about it, the more it began to sound more horrible.

Kristen put her hand in front of her mouth to cover her chewing. She saw him eyeing her, taking in all of her features. He analyzed her, which she thought was smart. She'd be doing the same to him if she didn't know him. Sam looked lively, color still flush in his cheeks as his hazel eyes scanned hers. She never thought a Winchester looked so…nice. Her mother told her stories about the Winchester men, and from what she imagined, it was more roughed up than this. She swallowed her food and put her hand down. She pursed her lips. "I owe you my life."

He shook his head. "You don't owe m-"

"I owe you something," she countered adamantly. Having an opportunity to work with one of the most dangerous hunters out there? She might learn a thing or two, and hopefully not get killed in the process. Worth a shot.

Sam thought long and hard about the mission. His mission. The one that might get him killed one day, but damn, he's already died more times than he had thought he would. If she really kept her word, this just might work. "I need help getting someone out of Purgatory," Sam said in a hushed voice. His mouth formed a tight line and he kept his eyes on her to see her reaction. Her reaction determined everything. If she was shocked, she might want to know more about it and decide to help. If she was too nonchalant about it, she'd say no within the next minute. Sam asked too many hunters to aid him, but most of them thought he was insane to even attempt to get Dean out of there.

Kristen almost choked on her food and coughed. Her eyes widened in shock. "The real purgatory? Really? That exists?" A few people turned to see if she was alright, diverting attention to the two hunters. Sam pushed her cup of water closer to her and nodded subtly, waiting for everyone's attention to scatter. Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory? Shit…Makes sense in a way. She took a few sips before continuing, "Why do we have to get someone out? Aren't they supposed to stay in?"

The next few words came out in a serious manner, cut clean and simple, "My brother is in there."

She set the glass of water down on the table carefully and locked eyes with Sam. Dean Winchester stuck in purgatory? God help us all. She thought and furrowed her eyebrows. "How long?"

Sam averted his eyes and sighed longingly. His jaw muscle flexed and his lip flattened out into a tight line. The words came out low and breathlessly, "A year…" He turned his head to the right and closed his eyes for a second to recuperate his composure. He calmed down and looked back at Kristen. "Claire, to be fully honest, I haven't really started looking for a way in until three months ago."

That was shocking. A Winchester not looking immediately? The other hunters would never believe it. Gossip always says the Winchesters would give themselves up for each other in a heartbeat, and would take anyone down who got in their way. Kristen studied Sam to see if he was lying, but he didn't even flinch. He sounded sincere, and most importantly, he looked to his right. He recalled a memory. She asked curiously, "Why?"

"Just got caught up in a life I've always wanted," he shrugged half-heartedly.

The more information I can get, the more I can use to my advantage later on. If she were to get into trouble with the Winchesters, she could throw the information back in Sam's face and let him fight it out with his brother. She could slip out of there without them noticing, or at least she'd have a slight advantage towards her survival. Kristen played around with the food on her plate and glanced up at him from time to time. "What changed?"

Sam sat up straighter and cleared his throat softly. He brushed some hair that fell in his face behind his ear. He grabbed his fork and started to jab a few pieces of his salad. "I thought about what it was like to be in the cage in hell, and if purgatory is anything like that, I don't want him to go through it," he explained in a low tone.

She remembered when word spread around years ago that one of the Winchester boys dove into the cage to save the world. It was entirely stupid, but brave, nonetheless. That felt like so long ago…If Sam got out of the most protected cage in history, there might be a chance to help Dean. As ridiculously dangerous as this sounded, a little adventure wouldn't hurt. Maybe then Sam wouldn't start another apocalypse. "I'll help," Kristen responded with confidence.

Sam cocked his head slightly and stared at her in shock. His eyes squinted for a second, a small smile curling at the ends of his lips. "Really?" She nodded in reply. Sam continued with a chuckle, "I thought you would say no. This idea is insane, even for me."

Kristen laughed and caught a glimpse of his smile. It suited him, but she might not see another smile again until they get his brother back, so she enjoyed the moment. She shrugged and returned with a grin of her own. "I'm interested in insanity. It leads to the greatest adventures. There's a great quote in this game I used to play with my little brother: 'Madness is not a state of mind. Madness is a place. Let's go there, shall we?'. "

"Well, I think I've been there quite a few times," Sam mumbled to himself. Kristen fell silent and took a bite of her food. He didn't think she heard what he said, but according to the silence, she probably did. He was just thankful she didn't try to press it out of him. "You don't have anywhere to be?"

Kristen snorted, "Considering I still don't remember what happened to me, I think staying with another hunter could help." She poked around her food until she popped another piece into her mouth. What she said was the truth. She had nowhere to be and no one to stay with at the moment. He was her best bet of finding something to do until she got on her feet again and solved her memory problem.

"Do you have any family you could stay with?"

The question hit her hard and she felt her mind cloud for a moment.

"Stop her!" Kristen's mother, Ofelia, yelled at the two boys in the room. She scrambled up from the ground and passed by the broken table. A thin trail of blood dripped down from her forehead and she winced from the pain. Her short black hair hung up in a messy ponytail and her green eyes glared at Kristen as if she were a monster. "Grab her arms!"

Worry built up in Kristen's system and she watched her family carefully. Her father, Mark, inched up on her left, a grief stricken expression falling over his face. His brown eyes glanced between Kristen and his son while trying to keep his calm. This whole fighting thing was new to him, it was almost too easy to tell. Mark's hands shook and he shifted his weight between his each leg unsteadily. A couple beads of sweat dripped down his short brown hair and dampened his forehead. Mark talked to his hard of hearing son using sign language, "Grab her arms."

Kristen's little brother, Tyler, warily walked closer on her right, fright overshadowing the gentleness of his hazel eyes. His short, curly brown hair brushed his long eyelashes and freckles sprinkled across his crinkled nose. He only came up to Kristen's shoulder, but as she looked down on him, he almost cowered in fear. His voice came out in a scared muffled whine, "Mom, I don't want to hurt her."

Both seemed intimidated by her and hesitated to leap forward. Her mother took out a small pocket knife and held it tightly in her hand. "Just do it!" She ordered, stepping closer carefully.

No…This can't be happening. Kristen thought in disbelief. She kicked her little brother down when he advanced and knocked him down to the ground. She waited patiently for her father to come at her and twisted his arm behind his back tightly. She set her hand on his head and threw him against the coffee table, making him cry out in shock.

A pain jolted up her side and she quickly spun around, facing her mother. Ofelia swung the bloody knife at her, but Kristen dodged it every time. Dash, dash, duck, it was the usual fight routine with her mother, and she knew it quite well. Her mother surprised her with a punch to the jaw, making her jaw slack for a moment. Kristen retaliated with a kick to the shin and a fist to the rib cage. Ofelia grunted and went in for another swish with the knife, but Kristen caught her wrist and put immense pressure on her veins. She grabbed her mother's other hand and twisted it sharply around.

Her mother yelled and bit Kristen's hand to make her let go, but she wouldn't give up. Ofelia dropped the blade and kicked her daughter in the stomach. One punch, two punches, three punches, soon Kristen caught onto the pattern and head-butted her. Her mother stumbled backwards in a daze, allowing Kristen to pick up the knife and advance towards her.

"Claire?"

Sam snapped Kristen out of her memory and she scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. W-were they possessed by demons and tried to kill me? No…the fear in their eyes…that was all them. Why were they attacking me? What happened to my family in the past twenty-four hours? She questioned herself internally until she noticed Sam waited for a reply. She stumbled over the first few words, "W-what? Oh…y-yeah. I…I don't want to worry my family with my memory loss. They would worry too much and swamp me with questions." Without knowing the full story, she could be walking in to dangerous territory if she decided to go back. She faked a small nervous laugh, "I'd rather stay away from them."

"Okay then. I understand that," he declared and munched on some of his salad. He watched her as she slowly slunk back in confusion and stared off into space for the rest of the meal until they left. Something wasn't right, but he decided not to do anything about it just yet. Timing was important. It makes or breaks a lot of things. For instance, relationships, hunts, kills, deals, and pretty much anything important in his line of work. Sam chose to keep his deal with her and not question too much until she was ready to. He needed her to help more than anything. He couldn't get Dean out of purgatory alone.