After what felt like an eternity, the sun peeked over the eastern horizon, colouring the snow laden clouds pink. There was hope that the storm was going to abate soon because the sun had shown through at all.

Unable to contain his nervous energy, Dean had taken to wandering the whole first floor of the abandoned building. The demons didn't seem particularly interested in the back of the house, just the front. If he weren't so tired and agitated, the seasoned hunter would have noticed the discrepancy and realized its importance. As it was, Dean was in the back room and saw the sky begin to lighten.

"About time," Dean muttered as he strode back to the front room. Mack and Jonas were still keeping watch over the front windows. The injured were still sprawled on the ground in front of the fireplace, resting as they could.

On his way by, Dean quickly checked over his still sweaty brother. The fever was down, marginally. The holy water Nick had used had helped at least that much. Thankful, Dean turned his attention to the other two mobile people in the room. "It's sunrise," he announced. "We'd better start coming up with a plan to get out of here."

"The demons aren't gone yet," Mack stated. There weren't as many of the freaky little creatures but he could still see their eyes in the lilac hedge.

"It's not completely light yet, there are still places for them to hide," Dean said, trying to keep his impatience at bay. Barking at the men wasn't going to improve their situation any. He looked out the front window. There was snow falling but it wasn't falling vertically any more. The wind had let up.

Dean paused long enough to reload his shotgun with rock salt rounds and put as many as he could carry in his pockets. Then he turned to the side door and pushed on it. He'd half expected the snow to have piled up behind it, preventing him from opening it but it swung outward easily. Stepping outside into the snow collected on the door step, Dean looked around.

The shed he'd parked the Impala in was partially filled with snow. The snow banks between here and there were at worst up to his knees and at best up to his ankles. They seemed to be deeper the closer he looked toward his car. Damn. Not what they needed right now. A particularly tall drift made its way from the left side of the shed to the right and was probably up to his thighs. Luckily, due to their line of work, the Winchesters were well stocked in shovels. If they had to they could dig the vehicle out.

The door opened behind him and Jonas came out to stand beside him. "We won't all fit in the car," he stated.

"If I have to, I'll stuff one of you in the trunk," Dean growled. He knew it wasn't a great plan. Hell, it wasn't even a good plan but the Impala was the only transportation they had at the moment.

"Do you plan to dig your way all the way to town?" Jonas asked, ignoring the man's comment.

"No, not to town," Dean said. He hated to admit needing anyone, even Sam. But Nick's 'prefect' was by far closer than town and appeared to have to knowledge they were going to need to help Sam and get rid of the demons. If he was able to ditch the Army men along the way, that would be an added bonus.

"Then where?" Jonas asked. He wanted to get back to his men but he didn't think that Bob was going to do well trudging through the snow banks. To be honest, he wasn't entirely sure how far he and Mack would get either. They weren't properly attired here. When the trio had set out after the tracks, they had only expected to be gone for an hour or so. All ready, he could feel the cold breeze making its way through his layers of cloths to chill the skin underneath.

"We're going to find Nick's boss. He's closer than town and probably better outfitted," Dean said.

"Do we have to worry about demons being in the shadows around your car?" Jonas asked. If he and Mack were going to be shovelling, he wanted to know whether they needed to watch each other's backs.

"They should be gone in the next half hour or so," Dean replied. Might as well tell the man as much as he knew, he thought. Lack of information could get any of them killed. "That'll give us time to pack up, load up the car and start digging."

"All right," Jonas replied. He didn't really have a better idea. Until he got in contact with his men, the three of them were just as well off to stay with these people. At least they seemed to have a grasp on the situation that they didn't. Colonel Ryan was going to have to expand his research capabilities after this one.

In the long run, Dean decided to leave the injured in the house beside the fire while the three of them dug the car out. Nick and Bob probably could manage the trek but he didn't want to move Sam until he absolutely had to. Even then, he wanted to make sure the trip was as short as possible and the car was warm.

The snow bank in front of the shed was hard and compact. But, the three men made short work of it and soon had the car as dug out as they were going to manage. Unlike what Dean said, he had no intentions of digging all the way to the road. He would dig only if his car got stuck. Otherwise they'd still be on the road by night fall. Someplace they do not want to be.

"Okay, let's see how far we get," Dean said as he popped the trunk and threw his shovel inside. Mack and Jonas followed suit. The sun was now shining toward them at a twenty degree angle from the horizon. During their time by the shed, they hadn't seen a single demon. Things were looking up.

The Impala had been idling during the last ten minutes of digging. Climbing inside, Dean relished the gentle purr of her engine for a brief moment before shifting the car into gear. Not a fan of snow, he still knew how to get around in it and so started the vehicle in low first gear.

The two Unit members stood to one side as Dean inched the black car forward, hoping to not get stuck in any of the lower snow banks. He knew there was enough weight in the back that they should be okay but he'd always learned to expect the worst. That way Dean was always prepared for what might happen next. After a new wracking few minutes he had the vehicle pulled up beside the side door step.

"Let's load them up," Jonas said as he and Mack came around the vehicle, climbed the stairs and entered the building. Things were definitely looking up.

"We'll put Nick, Bob and you in the back seat," Dean said. The car was older. It had a huge back seat. "Sam will lie across your knees. I don't think he could handle sitting up for any period of time."

"All right, let's get going," Jonas instructed. After last night, he really wanted to be somewhere secure by nightfall. At this point he was even willing to follow where Dean led. The trio entered the front room to find that Nick and Bob were all ready vertical. The two men had made sure that everything was packed, including the crucifixes from the walls. The bags were stacked by the doorway.

"Are we ready to go?" Nick asked as he hovered by a still sleeping Sam. His leg was all ready complaining about him standing on it. He just hoped they weren't going far.

"Yeah, the Impala is by the door," Dean said. The two Unit members were hoisting the heavy bags, heading toward the car. Now that they were moving Jonas didn't want any excuse to waste time. He wasn't sure what was in the bags but he figured it probably wouldn't hurt the next time they ran into the demons.

Ten minutes later the six men were crammed into the car. Sam was still unconscious but was moaning quietly and shifting around on the three men's laps. It wasn't a particularly comfortable position for any of them.

"Where to?" Dean asked as he looked at Nick in the rear view mirror.

Nick had to pause for a moment to bring the map to his mind before he answered. "We need to head North West of here. Take the first right until the next grid road, then take a left."

"Okay. Let's get this show on the road." Shifting the car into low second, Dean headed out. In second gear this was going to be a slow trip but it was better than spending another night in the abandoned house. As he pulled the car through the drifts in the front yard and made his way onto the dirt road, Dean could almost feel his muscles relaxing. A glance in the rear view at his squirming brother quickly built the tension again. Dean just hoped this Derek Raines was as good as Nick seemed to think he was.