Dean made his way back to Bobby's, jogging and speedwalking in turn. In the back of his mind, Alice had gone completely silent, lost in her own thoughts. Even so, her emotions bled through the thin curtain separating her consciousness from Deans. The feeling reminded him of the ghostly echoes of marker print bleeding through to the page below it. Softened, blurred, but distinct, tangible and recognizable. Alice was overwhelmed with panic and worry. Her fear was potent and piercing, and it urged Dean to move more quickly.
It's ok, he tried to assure her.
I know, she replied, and he felt her pulling back into herself, doing her best to hide her emotions from him. Dean tried his hardest not to peek, but for someone who often came off as stoic and put together, Alice was surprisingly a lot less in control of her feelings than she seemed.
Yeah, well you're not exactly a picture of mental health either, she snapped in response to the thought that Dean hadn't realized she would hear.
Hey, I didn't mean that, Dean protested.
I know. I'm sorry, I know. Let's just get back and find Danny. The sooner this is over, the better.
As Dean approached the house, he saw Sam and Bobby out in the yard. He called to them and sped up again.
"Dean!" Sam called back, racing to meet him. "What the hell happened?"
"Why didn't you answer the damn phone, boy?!" Bobby demanded.
"It's on the nightstand," Dean explained breathlessly. "Sorry. Did something happen?"
"Did something- I want answers, now, Dean," Bobby demanded. "Where's Alice? She's got some explaining to do."
"What do you mean?" Dean frowned.
"My house is warded ten ways to Sunday, there's no way in hell a demon got in there without help," Bobby growled.
Dean's frown deepened to a scowl.
"What, and you think Alice helped her? Are you nuts? Ruby was there to kill her! She almost did!"
"If that's the case, why the hell is Sam being so damn cryptic?" Bobby demanded. Behind him, Sam glanced between Bobby and Dean cautiously.
"Sam?" Dean prompted.
"I didn't know how much you guys wanted him to know," Sam said in his defense.
"What? Sam, it's Bobby!" Dean exclaimed. "Why would I want to keep him in the dark about anything?"
Sam held his silence, crossed his arms over his chest and fixed Dean with a look of disbelief.
"Great question, Dean," Bobby cut in. "Is there anything you're keeping me in the dark about?"
"No!" Dean insisted. "I mean... there's stuff you don't know, but I wasn't... I didn't mean to..."
Dean struggled to find the right words while Bobby watched him expectantly.
"Look, it's complicated. I was waiting for the right time to tell you," Dean sighed.
"Well you can quit holding your damn breath," Bobby scowled. "Start talking, boy. And don't leave anything out."
Dean, are you sure about this? Alice piped up warily.
It's Bobby, Dean replied.
You keep saying that, Alice said suspiciously. Even so, she could feel the absolute trust Dean felt for Bobby, the complete confidence he had that the older hunter would never do anything to hurt them. It didn't completely allay her fears, but it helped soothe them.
Alice didn't know Bobby Singer, but she knew Dean Winchester. She trusted him.
"Ok. Everything, from the beginning," Dean assured Bobby.
Danny ran blindly, desperation making it easy for him to ignore the cuts and bruises he accumulated as he tore a trail through the untamed woods. He ran faster and longer than he ever had in his life, ran until he couldn't breathe or think, and then forced himself to run a little farther. Finally, the frantic adrenaline rush of his escape started to fail him and his body with it. He fell to the ground, paralyzed by exhaustion as the sun began to peek over the horizon in the distance. He was at the very edge of the woods, a few steps from a vast open field. In the distance he saw a highway, cars whizzing past out of his reach, too far to offer him the help that he so desperately needed.
Danny felt like he was going to die as he lay in the long shadows cast by the trees in the morning's first light. He was panting, but every breath hurt his stomach and none of them felt like they were delivering any oxygen. He felt like he was drowning, his heart pounding so hard from his mindless dash that he was sure it would explode inside him.
Slowly, his heartbeat calmed and his breath returned to him, though the cramps in his legs, chest and stomach were still the worst he had ever felt. He tried to get up, only to fall back to the damp ground, groaning in pain and frustration. It was urgent that he get moving again. The hunters were going to come after him, and when they did he wanted a hell of a head start. If he could just get to the highway, someone would help him. Still wearing the skin that Alice Smith had forced upon him, he could look innocent, battered, helpless. All he needed to do was get up...
He tried, but exhaustion overtook him again.
"Damn it!" he cursed.
He started crawling, slowly dragging himself forward through the underbrush of the woods. He welcomed the prick of thorns and scratch of brambles. The more ragged he looked when he emerged, the better.
Behind him, he heard slow, deliberate footsteps crunching the leaves and sticks as they approached. Dread filled him, fear and adrenaline giving him a burst of fresh energy. Shakily, he stumbled to his feet lurching and tripping as he tried to make a run for the highway.
"Going somewhere?" a woman asked alongside him. He whipped his head around to see who it was and tripped over an unseen obstacle. With a cry, he found himself face down on the ground again. He tried to pull himself up, but was stopped by a heavy foot in on the center of his back. He shrieked breathlessly and struggled weakly, but his muscles treacherously betrayed him. He was helpless as the woman hauled him to his feet. He recognized Ruby instantly, and nearly burst into tears.
He had been so close... so close to freedom, so close...
He squeezed his eyes shut and flinched away from her harsh gaze, wishing desperately for a weapon. Even if he had one, he was too weak to use it. He was finished.
"Look at me," Ruby snapped. She shook him impatiently when he didn't comply immediately. "I said, look at me!"
Whimpering, Danny met her eyes, fear freezing his veins when he saw the cold black voids where her soul should have been.
Ruby squinted as she examined him, taking in his terror and lack of fight. The blue eyes that darted side to side, searching for any hope of help or escape. They weren't Alice Smith's eyes. This looked a lot like her quarry, but Ruby knew better than to let this simpering creature's outward appearance fool her.
"You're not Alice," she hissed. "Who are you?"
"I'm no one," Danny whimpered. "No one, not anymore."
Ruby shook him, dissatisfied with his answer.
"Don't screw with me!" she growled, tossing him back roughly against a tree. Before he could recover, she surged forward and grabbed him by the throat, pinning him to the tree while carefully leaving him with enough breathing room to speak. "Why do you look like Alice Smith? Talk!"
Danny gasped a clawed at her fingers, immovable as iron against his skin.
"My... name is... Danny. Danny... Brontely," he gasped desperately. "I'm a... shapeshifter..."
A long moment passed. Ruby let Danny choke as she digested that information.
"And Alice?" she finally asked.
"Ghost... bitch..."
Even dying of asphyxiation, Danny's hatred of Alice was clear and vehement enough to impress Ruby. She released him and he doubled over, clutching his sore neck and sucking in air greedily.
"You don't sound fond of her," Ruby observed.
Danny glared up at her with burning rage that did, for a moment, make him look a lot more like Alice.
"She ruined my life," he spat venemously. "Took everything from me."
"Join the club," Ruby snorted. "So let me get this straight. Alice's ghost has been possessing you, running around up here getting her second shot at life?"
She took Danny's silence for confirmation. The answer was illuminating. It explained how Alice had been able to 'break' her promise and stab Ruby. All she did was let Danny take the wheel and do it for her. Still, it brought up even more questions, and Ruby felt like getting answers from Danny could be a lot easier with a little tact.
"Alright," she went on. "Tell you what. I can keep torturing you for information. If I'm right, you'll have all kinds of juicy intel of what that cunt's been up to these days. Or..."
She offered him her hand, which he glared at warily.
"We could talk about it over a drink," she proposed.
Danny considered her offer for a moment. Finally, he straightened on his own, ignoring her hand and brushing some of the dirt and leaves off his clothes.
"I could use a drink," he said, tone calculated. Now that the struggle had edged away from life or death territory, he was regaining his ability to think rationally. To plan. "You caught up with me awfully fast. How about you use that super demon speed to get us to a bar somewhere far, far away from here?"
Ruby cackled and clapped his shoulder, making him jump. The kid was smart. He was trying to use her to get some distance between himself and Alice. Ruby would play his game.
"Have you ever been to LA?" she asked.
He shook his head.
"No. I've heard the weather's nice," he said cautiously, watching her like he expected her to start beating him up again.
"You're about to find out first hand," Ruby assured him. "With just one condition."
She tightened her grip on his shoulder and pushed her face close enough to his to smell the blood clotting over his many scrapes and scratches.
"If I zap you all the way out there and you don't give me some damn good information..." she said, voice low and threatening. "Well... let's just say you'll be begging for your old job back as Alice's bitch."
Danny shuddered, but it was too late to back out. The pair disappeared from the woods, leaving only disturbed leaves and brush to indicate that they had ever been there.
"So let me get this straight," Bobby interrupted Dean for the fifth time.
Dean groaned in frustration and covered his face with his hands.
"If that's even possible," Bobby grumbled. "This is ridiculous, even for you boys. I still don't quite understand how the time travel factor makes that much of a difference. The way I see it, you two are traipsing around out here with a ghost and a shapeshifter."
"A ghost in a shapeshifter," Sam cut in. If Dean didn't know better, he would have thought his little brother was enjoying this discussion.
"Uh-huh. And neither of you see anything wrong with this situation?" Bobby asked, eyeing the two of them with disbelief.
"Look, I get that it looks bad from the outside," Dean began.
"You can say that again," Bobby snorted. "Hell, you could print it on a t-shirt. What the hell are you thinking, Dean? You're a hunter, for christ's sake! How on God's green earth did you think this was ok?"
Alice stiffened and prickled at the back of Dean's mind.
Cool it, he told her. It's just a lot to process. He'll come around.
Yeah, or maybe he'll try to kill me like Sam keeps saying he will, Alice shot back.
"I know Alice," Dean insisted. "She's a damn good hunter, Bobby. She deserved a second chance at life."
"Spoken like someone who wants a second chance of their own," Bobby pointed out. "You need to get your head out of your ass and see what's really going on here. This isn't about how good of a hunter the girl is, or what she does or doesn't deserve. It's about what she is now, and what she's going to become."
"She's still the same Alice," Dean said defensively.
"Yeah, for now. She's also a restless spirit. You've been hunting your whole life Dean, you know what that means just as well as I do. So does Alice if she's as good as you keep saying she is."
"Alice is different!" Dean insisted.
"Boy, that's bull and you know it!" Bobby shot back. "Now maybe Alice can buy herself some time by packing herself up in shifter meat. Maybe she can keep it together with hex bags and incantations, but she's doing nothing but delaying the inevitable. Sam, remind me how many ghosts you and your brother have put down in your time?"
"Too many to count," Sam replied.
"And out of those, how many were sane enough to sit down and chat with?" Bobby pressed.
Silence enveloped the room while Bobby's words sunk in.
"Alice is running death a merry little chase," Bobby sighed. "But we all know it only ends one way, and it ain't pretty."
I'm not going insane anytime soon, Alice scoffed. This guy doesn't know me.
At any rate, insanity was better than hell, but Alice kept that thought to herself.
"Where's Alice now?" Bobby asked.
Do NOT tell him, Alice said emphatically.
"About that," Dean began.
We need his help finding Danny, Dean pointed out.
"The shapeshifter she was in kind of... got loose."
"Got loose?" Sam asked.
"Kicked Alice out and took off," Dean clarified.
"So... is Alice... here?" Sam asked, glancing around with a frown.
No, Alice said firmly. Say no.
"Well, she's..."
Alice, it's fine, Dean assured her. Bobby wouldn't do anything to hurt you.
Alice didn't believe him. He opened his mouth to tell Bobby and Sam what was going on, but suddenly found himself unable. Without warning, Alice pushed Dean aside and took over completely.
"Alice went after the shapeshifter," she said with Dean's voice. "He ran off through the woods, she's tracking him."
Alice! What the hell!
I'm not letting you get me dragged back to hell! she shot back.
Give me back my... myself, damn it!
Don't tell them!
Fine!
Alice gave Dean back the reins, so to speak, and he cleared his throat to disguise the rough transition.
"She, uh... she needs help though," he went on, trying to pick up where Alice left off. "I was thinking a tracking spell. Get a location on the shifter and go after him together."
"Uh-huh."
Bobby was eyeing him suspiciously.
"So, are you going to help, or do I have to do this alone?" Dean asked.
"Balls," Bobby grumbled. "I guess if no one's going to send her back to the great beyond, we may as well get her back into a host before she loses her mind."
See?! We could have told him, Dean fumed.
"Whatever you have planned," Bobby went on, "We better get to it fast. You've got a week left before your time is up, and we've got squat to use against Lilith."
"Do you have a ritual we can use to find the shapeshifter?" Dean asked.
"Tracking spells are a dime a dozen when you've got something of your target to get it started. DNA is preferable, but I can make it work with something she touched recently."
"Yeah. I'll get right on that," Dean said, standing quickly.
"I'll help," Sam offered.
"No, you help Bobby," Dean shot him down. He rushed out before anyone could say another word.
I can't believe you did that! he snapped.
What did you want me to do, let you tell that salt-happy son of a bitch I'm possessing you for the time being?! He would never have gone along with it!
Bobby's helping us find Danny, Dean pointed out. You're not giving him enough credit. He's just worried, is all.
Great, a worried hunter. I feel so much better.
Dean took a deep breath, calming breath as he entered the room he and Alice had been peacefully asleep in only hours earlier. The sky was lightening outside, pale grey morning fog creeping across Bobby's junkyard. Dean pulled Alice's duffel bag out from beneath the bed and started going through it.
Look, just don't do that again. You said I wouldn't even know you were here, Dean reminded her. Shoving your hand up my ass to use me like a puppet has a funny way of making it very clear that there's someone else squatting in your brain.
Alice was miffed and defensive, and Dean could tell that the apology she offered was half-hearted at best. It did little to assure him that she wouldn't take over his body again. He didn't dwell on it. He didn't feel like he had time to.
What's the best thing to use for the spell? he asked instead.
Probably the knife I ganked Ruby with. Go see what Sam and Bobby did with it. You know what, I'd like to see her body too while we're at it.
Maybe we should wait til we get Danny back to gloat.
Gloat? Dean, that's not just Ruby's body, you know, Alice pointed out. My sister was in there too. I need to give her a proper send off.
Right. Sorry.
Dean was about to head downstairs again, when he caught sight of someone outside. He approached the window, peeking out to see a man standing in the yard below.
"What the..."
The man was in his mid-thirties, wearing a black suit and fedora and carrying a briefcase. He set the case down on the ground to pull a pack of cigarettes from inside his jacket. He took one and lit it, lifting his face to the sky as he took his first inhale. He was pale as death, with tightly drawn features that made his skin look mask-like and a little translucent. As he surveyed the house, he caught Dean's gaze and held it.
Shit! Get away from the window, Dean! Alice yelled at him.
Who is that? Dean asked, sensing Alice's recognition. She was also, he realized, terrified.
The Reaper that's been on my ass since I busted out of hell, she explained. The only reason you can see him is that I'm hitching a ride with you. Act like you don't see him. Play it off! Quick!
Awkwardly, Dean broke eye contact with the reaper and acted like he was adjusting the curtains. The reaper continued to watch him, slowly puffing his cigarette in the morning haze.
Will you please get away from the window? Alice begged.
You said play it off!
Go play it off away from the god damned window!
"Fine, geez," Dean groaned. He made his way back downstairs, where Sam and Bobby were setting up the spell.
"So, I was trying to think of things she touched right before the shifter escaped," Dean said. "And that knife she stabbed Ruby with came to mind. You have it?"
"Ah, no," Sam replied absent-mindedly, etching spellwork while he spoke. "We assume Ruby took it with her, but who knows?"
"Ruby... what? Took it with her where?" Dean asked in confusion. "Ruby's dead."
"No, Ruby's fine," Bobby said. "We saw her heading off the property like nothing happened. Disappeared once she got past my wards."
"Wait, so you're saying..."
Dean was shocked, but Alice was downright outraged. Dean realized he could see his breath, and quickly excused himself.
"That's fine, I'll just... maybe something in her truck..."
He rushed out of the room before Sam and Bobby could notice the dropping temperature.
Get a handle on yourself, he chastised Alice.
I'm handled! she snapped, but he could still feel her fury burning a hole in his skull.
I'm serious, Alice, you need to count to ten or something. I'm breathing icicles, and that Reaper is poking around outside. I have to go out there and find something for this spell.
It'll be fine. He has no way of knowing I'm in here. Just act like you can't see him.
Right. Piece of cake. Just ignore the creepy angel of death skulking around, Dean scoffed.
Alice started singing 'Don't Fear The Reaper', but Dean wasn't amused. He took a deep breath, and poked his head out the front door. When he didn't see anyone, he tentatively stepped out. As he approached Alice's truck, trying his damnedest to play it cool, he was struck by the nearly overwhelming urge to look behind him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he was suddenly certain that the Reaper was standing right behind him.
Don't look, Alice urged him. Just keep walking.
Dean pushed forward, fighting the desire to make a dash for the truck. Instead, he stuck his hands in his pockets and tried to look casual. He got close enough to spot the truck's side mirrors, and made a beeline for the driver's side. A glance into the glass confirmed his suspicions. He locked eyes for the briefest of instants with the Reaper, following directly behind him. Dean got in the truck and took another deep, bracing breath, ignoring the Reaper as it walked around to the passenger side of the truck and leaned against the door, taking a long puff of it's cigarette. It exhaled, then spoke in a voice like a scarf being dragged over dried autumn leaves.
"You know, it's been over three hundred years since I made eye contact with someone who wasn't dead yet," he observed.
Don't answer. Don't answer, don't answer, Alice chanted over and over in Dean's head. Dean continued going through Alice's things.
"Dean Winchester, I know you can see me. I know you can hear me."
Dean paused in his search, trying to tune out Alice's pleading as the Reaper finished his cigarette and let it fall to the ground.
"It's alright. I know my kind are frightening to yours," the Reaper said. Dean thought it was trying to sound comforting past the dry rasp of it's decrepit voice. "I'm not here for you."
Dean, come on, Alice whined. Please don't look, please don't-
Alice, stop. It's ok.
It's not ok!
Alice's terror was overwhelming and it almost overtook Dean as well. He shoved it away, meeting the Reaper's eyes.
"Well that's a relief," Dean said, trying to force a chuckle. "I swear, coming down the porch steps I thought I was a goner."
The Reaper smiled at his humor, thin lips becoming white as they stretched up. Even so, there was no malice in his expression. No levity either. It was completely empty, a gesture made solely for Dean's sake. A mimicry of humanity no doubt meant to evoke familiarity, and by association, comfort.
"Don't be too terribly relieved," the Reaper said. "You are indeed very close to death. Otherwise, I would be invisible to your eyes."
"Yeah, I know," Dean sighed, once again reminded of the ticking clock that was his deal. "So if you're not here to reap me, what... you just came to watch the show when they drag me away?"
Stop making small talk with death! Alice chided him.
Relax, he doesn't know you're here, Dean replied.
Alice wasn't happy, but she did settle down, sinking into the deepest, darkest corner of Dean's mind she could find.
"Not at all," the Reaper replied. "I'm here for your friend."
"No idea what you're talking about."
The Reaper shushed him, and leaned in the window of the car, making Dean incredibly uncomfortable with their closeness. The Reaper took a deep sniff, eyes closing and opening again.
"I can smell her all over you, hunter."
Dean's heart sank and Alice wailed miserably.
"Your lover has evaded me for quite some time," the Reaper said, lighting another cigarette. "I would be impressed, were it not such a tedious time I've had of finding her."
"She's long gone by now," Dean bluffed, ignoring Alice's despair and his own pounding heart.
The Reaper watched him closely, taking a drag from his cigarette that seemed to go on forever. When he finally exhaled, he politely directed his smoke into the open air, safely away from Dean.
"We'll see about that," he finally said. "I don't expect you to tell me where she's gone, but neither do I expect she will stay away for long."
"She knows better than to come back here," Dean insisted. "I wouldn't waste my time if I were you."
"Well, you aren't me, after all. Where you are running out of time, Mr. Winchester, I am replete with it."
Dean shrugged.
"If 'replete' means you have so much time on your hands you don't mind wasting it, then by all means. Stick around a while."
What is wrong with you! Why are you inviting him for a sleepover?!
Haven't you ever heard of reverse psychology? Dean quipped. He was only half joking.
Alice was at the end of her leash. This was not her day. Not even close.
Just grab the pack of gum out of the visor and get back in the house, she groaned. Keep your skin off it or you'll mess the spell up.
"Oh, just no smoking in the house, please," Dean told the reaper as he followed Alice's instructions, using a tissue to grab the gum. "Lung cancer might not top your list of concerns, but the rest of us would like to avoid it. Thanks."
The Reaper held his silence, but Dean could feel it's eyes following him all the way to the front door.
Should we really be going through with this spell while this creep is tailing me? he wondered.
We'll figure something out, Alice said. I've got hex bags for days in my duffel. Maybe we can slip past him after we get the location.
Alice, this is death we're talking about, not a prom night chaperone, Dean pointed out.
Oh please, this guy is a joke. I've outwitted him this long. I've still got a few punches to pull.
Dean thought that was awfully big talk from someone who might have peed his pants only moments ago if she were in control of his bowels, but he kept the sentiment carefully hidden from Alice. He understood her desperate need to hide behind bravado in the face of such dire circumstances.
"No DNA," Dean told Sam and Bobby, who had all but finished the spell. "Alice is too paranoid to leave any of that lying around. I guess she probably touched this a few hours ago though."
He presented them with the gum packet and was met with raised eyebrows.
"You guess?" Bobby asked. "Don't go wasting my arcane ingredients on a hunch, boy."
"She touched it," Dean said confidently.
"Well alright then."
Dean placed the gum gingerly in a brass bowl with the rest of the ingredients and took a step back. Bobby read an incantation, sprinkled the bowl with a scentless liquid, then threw in a match. Quickly, he picked up a scrap of parchment and held it over the flames, just enough to singe, but not enough to burn. He kept chanting, and the flames took on a deep, unnaturally red hue. The smell of spearmint filled the air as the gum was consumed in the blaze.
Finally, the flames died down and Bobby examined the parchment.
"I've got an address. It's a bar... in Los Angeles," he said, sounding puzzled.
"That can't be right," Sam frowned, taking the parchment from Bobby. "There's no way he got that far this fast."
Not on his own, Alice observed.
"Not without help," Dean echoed aloud.
"From who?" Bobby demanded. "Sonic the Hedgehog?"
"Or Ruby," Dean suggested.
"Why would Ruby help Danny get away?" Sam asked.
"I don't know. Maybe she didn't. Maybe she saw something that looked like Alice, assumed it was Alice, and ran off to torture him to death, " Dean suggested.
"What, does Sioux Falls not have the right ambiance for torture?" Bobby snarked.
"Maybe the spell just didn't work right," Sam countered.
"The spell worked fine," Bobby bristled. "He's at the address that popped up. How he got there isn't really important. What we need to do now is figure out our next move."
"We go bag the son of a bitch," Dean said immediately.
"Hold up a minute, we need to think this through a little more than that," Sam protested. "Dean, you don't have a lot of time left, and we aren't any closer to finding Lilith than we were two weeks ago. Running off halfway across the country chasing this shapeshifter might not be the smartest thing to do right now!"
"So what, you just want to let him get away?" Dean demanded. "Maybe you've forgotten, but Alice chose Danny for good reason. The kid is a complete psycho murderer! We can't just let him run loose out there!"
"Dean, there and back, you're talking a four day round trip," Bobby pointed out. "And that's if everything goes smooth and we get him off the bat. By then, you've got hellhounds breaking down your door. Game over."
They're right Dean, Alice realized. I hate to say it, but chances are, Danny'll be dead by the time we get to him. You don't have time to waste chasing him.
So what, just give up?
The world is full of shapeshifters, and they're all monsters. I can find another host after we save your bacon.
Dean bit his lip, considering everything he was being told. His gut told him letting Danny go was wrong, but Sam, Bobby and Alice made good points.
"You're right," he said aloud.
Sam and Bobby both looked surprised.
"You're right, we uh... we need to get back to work," Dean sighed.
"Well, I have to say it's awfully nice getting a Winchester to see reason for once," Bobby chuckled. "I should take a picture for posterity."
Dean just rolled his eyes. Outside, he caught a glimpse of the Reaper strolling slowly through the yard, puffing his cigarette at a leisurely pace. There was a terrible thought lurking in the back of his mind, nagging him with worry.
Alice? he asked, unable to keep it to himself. What if we can't save me?
What do you mean?
What'll happen to you if you're still riding my meat when the hellhounds come for me?
Ok, first of all, that was incredibly inappropriate, Alice snickered, but Dean could feel the uncertainty beneath her joke.
I'm serious. What'll happen?
I don't know. We'll make sure it doesn't come down to that, Alice replied.
Maybe you should skip, Dean suggested.
And go where? Alice asked. The minute I leave, that Reaper's going to be all over me.
She was right, Dean realized. They were backed between a rock and a hard place together, and space was running out quickly.
Don't worry about it, she said, trying hard to be comforting. We'll figure this out by then.
Dean wasn't comforted in the least. He was too aware of the fact that Alice was only saying that to make him feel better. Too aware of how afraid she really was, for both of them.
