A/N: And we move on to our next letter of the week. I hope you are enjoying the one shots with the guys. Thank you for taking this journey with me. Can to guess what D will be? I do like to know your thoughts, please review. NC


C

Sam was sleeping in since he had stayed up doing research trying to find something to help his brother. When he had been killed at Cold Oak, Dean had made a deal with a crossroads demon and only got a year to live before the deal came due. Four months had passed, and he had found nothing that would help him. They were still hunting, but any free time Sam had was spent going through lore, tomes, old spell books, anything he could get his hands on that might shed some light on Dean's situation.

An annoying ringing pulled Sam from the throes of sleep and he turned his head to see Dean's cell ringing on the nightstand. "Dean, man, answer your cell," Sam said rolling back over.

Dean grumbled and grunted but didn't wake up as his cell continued to ring.

"Damnit Dean," Sam muttered as he moved closer to the edge of the bed to snag his cell and answer it. "H'llo," he huffed.

"Sam?" a female voice questioned. "Thought I was dialing Dean."

"You did, he's asleep."

"It's Jody Mills, Sam. Did I wake you?"

"Hey Jody, that's okay, it's time to get up anyway. What's going on?"

"Well a friend of mine called me wanting some help, but I think it's more along your boy's line of work."

"What is it?"

"A friend of my friend says strange things are going on with her kid. He's not himself anymore. She doesn't know what to do or how to make anyone believe her. And another mother tried to kill her kid saying she was a monster; she saw it in a mirror. This is way over my head and thought you might check it out."

"Where's this happening at Jody?"

"Small town in Utah called Richfield, it's about one hundred and fifty miles below Salt Lake City. My friend's name is Zoe Martin and I told her to be expecting you. She works at the public library."

"Okay Jody, we'll go check it out, we're only about six hours away."

"Thanks' Sam. How's Dean doing?" she asked cautiously.

"He's hanging in there," Sam said. He looked over at his brother's sleeping body.

"What about you? You doing alright?"

"I'm fine," he said quickly. No one had really asked him how he was handling this situation and he caught him off guard. Dean was the one in trouble and should be the focus of attention.

"If you need to talk anytime Sam, you have my number."

"Thanks. I'll get Dean up and we'll head for Richfield."

"Thanks. Take care."

"We will." Sam hung the cell up and swung his legs off the bed before calling to his brother. "Dean wake up! Hey!" he called louder throwing a pillow at him.

"What?" Dean groaned throwing the pillow back at him.

"Jody called, she may have us a case, get up."

"I'm up bitch," Dean fussed lying back down.

"Jerk," Sam shot back jerking the blanket off his brother's body on his way to the bathroom.

"Hey!" Dean complained feeling the cool air chill his body. He swore under his breath as he sat up on the side of the bed trying to wake himself up. He waited for Sam to come out of the bathroom before getting up and slapping him on the back of the head in passing and quickly ducked into the bathroom before he could retaliate.

spn

"What did Jody say again?" Dean asked as he steered the Impala down the interstate toward Richfield, Utah. They wouldn't get there until late so Dean was going to find a motel for the night and look Jody's friend up the next day.

"She said something was wrong with some kids. One woman tried to kill her daughter calling her a monster. She said she saw it in the mirror," Sam replied looking up from his reading.

"You checking Dad's journal to see what it might be?"

"Yes, I'm hoping he maybe ran across something like this before. It'll give us a heads up on what we're looking for."

"Anything?"

"Not yet, but I still have more pages to read through."

"I'll have to stop for gas soon, wanna grab something to eat too?"

"That's fine, whatever," Sam mumbled already tuning Dean out as he went back to reading.

Dean looked over at him and saw he was in his own world again. When he got like this, he found the best thing to do is leave him alone and let him come back on his own. Sam had been obsessed with trying to find something to break Dean's deal before his time was up and he would spend hours with his nose stuck in a book researching. He wouldn't eat or drink or even acknowledge anyone else was around unless Dean made a point of being sure he ate or drank. He didn't bother trying to talk to him and kept an eye on the gas gauge and what the signs offered along the way. When he found a suitable exit, he was stopping. They both needed a break.

spn

The Impala pulled into Richfield when darkness was descended, and Dean guided her to a small motel on the outskirts of town. He knew they needed rest before delving into the possible hunt in this town. Sam went in and got them a room for the night and headed around back letting Dean follow him in the Impala. He opened the door to the room and went back to the car for his things.

Dean went in first giving the room a once over to be sure it would suit their needs and dropped his bag on the bed closest to the door. Sam moved to the other one and sat his bag on the bed. It was an automatic thing between them since they started hunting together, Dean took the bed closest to the door insisting if anyone broke in, he would be the first line of defense. They'd have to get by him to get to Sammy.

"Want the bathroom first?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, okay," Dean nodded getting his bathroom bag and a pair of sweats from his duffle. He headed into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

Sam found the remote and turned on the television to a documentary and sat down on the bed to wait his turn. He was tired even though he only drove a few hours of the trip. It seemed getting no sleep was catching up with him and he was dragging. Sam decided to turn in early hoping his sleep wouldn't be disturbed with bad dreams again. He leaned back and settled on a pillow as a yawn escaped and he rubbed his tired eyes. He let his eyes close and was barely listening to the drone of the television when Dean came out and looked over at him.

"Hey bro, bathroom and go to bed," Dean told him slapping his leg before stealing the remote to find something else to watch.

Sam jumped and stared bleary eyed at Dean not hearing what he said as he tried to get his mind working.

"Bathroom's free," Dean said slowly to get his point across. "And go to bed."

"Alright," Sam mumbled pushing himself from the bed and fumbling with his bag to get what he needed. He shuffled to the bathroom closing the door behind him. Sam wasn't long in the bathroom and came back out dropping his clothes on his duffle before going to the bed to turn down the covers and crawl in. He snuggled down with his back to Dean and the television slipping back to sleep.

Sam was running down a street, trying to find his brother before it was too late. His time was up, and he had to stop the hellhounds from dragging him to Hell. He screamed his brother's name, but his voice was so hoarse hardly any sound came out. He frantically looked around and spotted a figure ahead of him. He started running again, but he never seemed to get any closer to him. Sam could hear the howls of the hounds and screamed again….

"Hey dude! Wake up!" Dean yelled at his brother as he shook his body hard. Sam had woken him yelling his name and knew it was another nightmare. "Sammy man, wake up…." Dean sat back when Sam's started flinging his arms and sprang from the bed panting and staring wild eyed at him. "You had another nightmare bro, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sam rasped out his throat tight and dry. He tried to slow his breathing as he let his head drop back to the pillow and rubbed a hand down his face. "Sor'y I woke you."

"Go back to sleep, it's not time to get up," Dean told him knowing there wasn't really anything he could do to help him. He went back to his own bed and laid back down but didn't go to sleep. He listened to his brother wiggling around in his bed and to his breathing slowly calming and evening out. Dean could tell he had gone back to sleep finally and wondered if he could do the same. He was hiding his feelings from everyone as the time ticked away toward when hid deal would come due. He knew there wasn't anything that could save him, and he had accepted it. He just wished his brother could do the same.

spn

The library was a brick building that sat near the high school. Dean found a place to park and they got out to head inside and find Jody's friend, Zoe Martin. They paused long enough at the entrance to zero in on the checkout desk and headed that way.

"May I help you," a young girl asked batting her eyes at Sam.

Dean couldn't help but smirk as Sam fidgeted under her leering gaze. He rescued him by asking, "We'd like to see Zoe Martin please."

"She's in her office in the back," she told Dean ignoring him as she leaned closer to Sam before talking. "Is there something I can help you find or help you with?" she cooed to him trying to act sexy.

"No, that's fine," Sam stuttered as he quickly followed Dean toward the back of the library where he saw a sign for the office. He couldn't stop his face from reddening by the girl's remarks.

"You sure you don't want to visit Romeo?" Dean snickered when he saw his brother's red face.

"No!" Sam muttered madly.

Dean found the door marked director and knocked before opening it. A woman in her mid-thirties looked up from her desk at him. She had auburn, shoulder length hair and bright blue eyes. She wasn't what you would call beautiful, but she had an air of confidence and maturity and a smile that would melt your heart.

"Can I help you?" she asked looking between the two brothers.

"I think so, Jody Mills sent us," Dean said.

Realization dawned on her face and she stood motioning them to sit in the chairs at her desk. "Thank you for coming so quickly. You're Dean and Sam Winchester, correct?"

"I'm Dean," he smiled at her thinking he might want to visit the library again before they left. "And this is Sam, my brother."

"I'm Zoe. Jody said that you handle weird things and I have to say this has got me baffled. I've known Cara for years and I have to say she is spooked. I've never seen her like this. She's afraid to be alone with her son."

"How old is he?" Dean asked.

"He's eight."

"Have you seen him? Do you see any changes in him?" Sam asked.

"No, Cara just came to me a couple of days ago and told me about this. Should I be worried for her?" she questioned looking between the brother who glanced at each other as something passed between them. She wasn't getting a good feeling about this.

"Can you give us Cara's address; we'd like to go talk to her. And Jody mentioned a woman tried to kill her daughter, where is she at?"

"I can do that," she said pulling a scrap of paper out and writing on it before handing it to Dean. "It was her foster daughter, and they are holding her on the psych ward at the hospital. Her name is Amber Wilson. That's all I know. She just kept babbling to the cops that the girl was a monster."

"Alright, we'll take it from here. Thanks for the information," Dean nodded getting up to leave.

"Dean, will you let me know what you find?" she asked looking at him with concerned eyes.

"You might not want to know Zoe," he offered before giving Sam a nod and stepping to the door to leave.

Sam skirted the checkout desk and led them around the library for the front door. Once they were outside, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's swing by the motel. I set a program to run while we were gone to see if I could narrow down what monster we might be dealing with."

"Alright, we need to change anyway to get in to see this Amber Wilson on the psych ward. I hate cases that involve kids, that's just not right," he huffed madly.

"I agree," Sam replied. He dropped into the passenger seat, his mind drifting to his brother's deal and what else he could do to try and break it. He knew he should keep his mind on the case, but he couldn't help it. It still haunted his thoughts and would until he either broke it or Dean was dragged to Hell. Sam was lost in his mind and didn't realize they had gotten back to the motel already.

"Dude, you need to have your mind in the game or someone's going to get hurt," Dean told him when he saw the blank look on Sam's face.

"Sorry, I'm good," Sam told him, putting on a neutral face and getting out of the car. He didn't want Dean questioning him about his zoning out and opened the door to go check his laptop. He pulled up the search program and looked at what it found. "Have you heard of changelings before?" Sam asked when Dean strolled in.

"Don't think so, what about it?"

"It says a changeling is a creature found in folklore throughout Europe. They were believed to be a fairy child that had been left in place of a human child stolen by the fairies. Says changelings are shapeshifters and can shift between human and their true form. You can see their real form in a reflective surface. They have lamprey like mouths covered in sharp teeth that allow them to feed on humans. They feed off the mothers sucking synovial fluid from the back of her neck."

"And I'm supposed to know what that is…" Dean asked looking at Sam with a 'go ahead and tell me' look.

"The fluid reduces friction between joints during movement. It takes a few feedings, probably several weeks, but the mother will finally die. There is a mother changeling that watches over her kids…Crap…" Sam spit out as he read silently.

"What?" Dean complained showing his annoyance. "Can't read your mind Sammy, spill."

"The mother changeling takes the real kids and feeds off of them."

"Shit! How do we kill them?"

"Good thing is if the mother is killed all her kids die too. Fire kills them."

"That's what I needed to know. So how do we find them?"

"Jody said the mom who tried to kill her kid saw it in the mirror. She saw its true form."

"So, we check out the kids."

"And do what? We can't be killing kids Dean. I don't think that will go over too well with the locals."

"Then what do we do?"

"Find the mother and the real kids. She's got to be connected somehow so she can watch over her offspring. I'd say she's not far away either."

"Okay, let's get changed and see if we can get in to see this Wilson chick." Dean dug out his suit and shook it out before stepping into the bathroom to change.

Sam got up and got his own suit out and waited for the bathroom. He was already trying to devise a plan to find the mother so they could take her out before any human mothers started dying around here.

Dean came out of the bathroom adjusting his tie and pulling at his shirt collar. He hated having to dress in suits but knew it was needed as a cover to bluff their way into places they couldn't normally get into. He stepped aside so Sam could use the bathroom and change. Dean checked his gun and slipped it into the waistband of his slacks. It might not stop a changeling, but he felt naked without it. He slipped a knife in his jacket and one in a sheath he strapped to his leg.

"Hurry up bro, don't need to primp in there," Dean called to his brother thinking he was taking too long.

"I'm almost done," Sam's irritated voice answered.

"You need help dressing yourself?"

"Jerk."

"Bitch."

spn

Dean bluffed their way in to see Amber Wilson on the psych ward. She was locked in a room and had been sedated to keep her calm. An orderly unlocked the door to let them in. Dean walked slowly to the bed and looked at the woman lying in the bed. He could tell she was drugged heavily but hoped she could talk to them.

"Ms. Wilson," he asked softly, not wanting to frighten her.

She opened her eyes and blinked quickly as she focused on the brothers and pulled the sheets up higher on her chest. "Who are you?" Her frightened eyes darted between the brothers.

"We'd like to ask you about your foster daughter," Dean told her.

"Why? No one believes me, they think I'm crazy," she replied a slight slur to her words.

"You might find we're a little more openminded than others," Sam offered. "Can you tell us what happened?"

Amber licked her lips and let her head rest back on her pillow for a moment.

"Why don't you drink something?" Dean asked handing her a cup of water.

After drinking several sips of water, Amber looked at them before starting. "I'm a foster parent. I've fostered seven kids over the years but when I took in this last one…Something didn't feel right. There was something about her that made my skin crawl. We were in the living room and I was doing her hair and looked in the mirror I have on the wall and I saw it. The reflection showing was not her, it was horrible…" She had to stop as her voice hitched and she wiped her eyes.

Sam handed her a tissue and offered a caring smile. He knew this was hard on her having to relive what happened. "It's okay, take your time."

"Her name was Lily. At first, I didn't think anything about her not wanting to be out of my sight because some of the foster kids have been through a lot. But it got worse. I couldn't even go to the bathroom by myself and she showed no emotions like most kids do. Then I found her sneaking into my bed at night and I found this." Amber leaned forward and moved her hair to show her neck and the round mark that looked like it was edged with teeth marks. "The doctors think I did something to cause it, but I swear it was her."

Dean and Sam looked at each other knowing what it was. "Mind if I take a photo?" Sam asked.

"I guess," she nodded holding her hair for him.

Sam snapped a couple of photos and stepped back.

"It'll be okay Amber, we'll get to the bottom of this," Dean told her squeezing her hand gently. "Thank you for talking with us."

"So, you believe me?"

"We do," Sam told her. He gave a brief nod before they left the hospital room.

"We know for sure what we're dealing with now," Sam mumbled to Dean as they left the hospital.

"The question is how do we find the mother?"

"Who places kids in foster homes?"

"A social worker."

"What better disguise for the mother. She has access to the real foster kids and can replace her kids with them. We need to find out who's the newest social worker at DSS."

"And then track her and hope she leads us to the real kids."

"We'll need a way to kill her."

"To bad we don't have a flame thrower."

"Going a little extreme there aren't we?"

"Whatever it takes. We need to find the DSS office and see what we can find out."

"Why not pose as possible foster parents?"

"Us like a couple?" Dean asked wincing in disgust as he looked at Sam.

"No! One of us could do it. You know we're just getting information and what we would have to do. You could pretend your wife is working and couldn't come and I'm along for support."

"Or we could be reporters wanting to do a piece on foster care, you know shed some light on the need for more," Dean suggested. "They might talk more freely to us that way. Wanna find the office?" Dean asked as he cranked the Impala.

"Okay, not a bad idea. Give me a second," Sam replied pulling out his cell and doing a search. He did like his brother's idea better than his own. "Got it. It's in a building across town. All the government offices are together."

"Tell me where to turn," Dean told him as he pulled from the parking lot. He hoped they'd have this case wrapped up in another day and they could maybe take a day to chill. He knew Sam was secretively researching a way to break his deal, but deep, deep down he didn't think that would happen.

"Are we going to go see Zoe's friend, Cara, once we're done at DSS? Take a left at the light."

"Yeah, it would probably be a good idea. Kids should be in school now, so we can talk to her without interference."

spn

An older woman looked up from the pile of paperwork on her desk when the door to DSS opened and two young guys stepped in. She eyed them cautiously as they approached her.

"Can I help you?" she asked once they stopped.

"Yes ma'am." Sam started. "We're with a local news agency and wanted to do a piece on foster kids and the people like yourself who help them find a foster family."

"Your job has got to be tough and it seems like you are unsung heroes who are overworked and underpaid," Dean added getting a slight frown from Sam that he was laying it on a little thick.

"We would like to shed some light on foster care and hopefully get more people involved and want to be foster parents."

"The need is great and there are so many children who need a foster home."

"How long have you been doing this?" Dean asked.

"Almost twenty years and it hasn't got any easier over the years. The need keeps growing but the foster parents don't."

"Do you have others who work with you Ms. Turner?" he asked reading her name on the plaque sitting on her desk, Gloria Turner. "You can't be doing this on your own I hope," Sam questioned as he scribbled in a small notebook like he was taking notes.

"Thank goodness no, Tina is out to lunch and our two newest social workers are at a workshop today," she said.

"How long has Tina worked here?" Dean asked hoping to narrow the possible mother down to at least two.

"She's been here ten years but has worked in the field just about as long as I have."

"What would you do, if you could, to improve the system? I mean, we've all heard stories of bad situations for foster kids."

"We need more social workers to take care of the increasing number of kids that are flooding our offices. Better background checks for prospective foster families, more home visits to check on the kids, more people who care about these kids."

"Understandable for sure," Dean commented trying to move this alone. He knew these people had a hard job and didn't want to waste any more of her time. "And your co-workers at the workshop, do you think they would talk to us about why they chose this field and the education you need?"

"I'm sure Susan and Amy would be happy to. They'll be back in the office tomorrow."

"Thank you for your time, we'll get started on the article and will come back to talk to Susan and Amy," Sam said. He got up and quickly glanced around at the other desks in the large office. He saw the names Susan Waters and Amy Tate and wrote them down.

"Thank you for getting the word out there," Gloria said shaking their hands.

The brothers left the office and made their way back to the stairs to take them to the ground level and the front doors. They headed back to the Impala and got in.

"At least we have names, think you can use your geek brain and figure out which one is the monster?"

"I might be able to. Maybe we can ask Cara who she talked to at DSS and who placed the kid with her."

"I knew there was a reason I kept you around," Dean teased to get a roll of his eyes from Sam. "So, where does this Cara person live?"

"It's not far. She lives in a small housing development about ten miles away."

"Alright navigator, show me the way."

Sam snorted and pulled up the directions on his cell before relaying them to his brother. Dean got back out on the road and moved along with the traffic until it thinned out the closer he got to the residential area. Sam pointed to the next road letting Dean know that was where he needed to turn. They pulled up in front of a nice, two story house and parked.

"What are we going to tell her?" Sam asked not sure their cover story.

"We're friends with Zoe and want to see if we can help," Dean shrugged. It wasn't a complete lie and figured they could get away with it. He ran the bell and waited for an answer. When no one came, he rang it again and finally noises could be heard behind the door.

The door opened and a young, sickly looking woman stared out at him.

"Hi, Cara?" Sam asked frowning as she wavered slightly.

"Are you alright?" Dean asked just before Cara suddenly crumbled to the floor. Dean knelt by her side and quickly felt for a pulse. It was weak, but there. He turned her body and moved her hair to see the same red mark on the back of her neck that was like the one on Amber's neck.

"We need to get her to the emergency room," Sam said seeing the mark too.

Dean scooped her into his arms and Sam closed her door before running after his brother. He opened the back door of the Impala and helped Dean scoot Cara onto the seat. They got in and Dean pulled away heading back toward the main part of the town to the hospital.

spn

"We need some help here!" Dean yelled as he carried Cara into the emergency room.

A nurse grabbed an orderly who got a gurney and Dean placed her on it. "What happened" the nurse asked.

"We went to visit her, and she collapsed at the door," Dean told her.

"Are you family?"

"No, college friends. We were passing through town and stopped to visit," Sam filled in.

"We'll take it from here thanks, you can check back later if you want to see her," the nurse told them before joining Cara and an orderly in a curtained off room.

"Let's get out of here and go check those two social workers out," Dean mumbled to Sam as he pulled him back toward the door. "We can't do anything else for her."

Sam nodded, but hated to leave Cara alone. He knew the only way to help her was to kill the mother changeling which would kill her children and save all the foster mothers out there.

spn

Dean opened the door to their motel room and spoke first. "Find the mother so we can light her up Sammy," Dean said madly. "I don't want to see any of these foster moms die, much less the kids the bitch is holding hostage."

"I plan on it," Sam replied going to his laptop and opening it up. He pulled up a search engine and began to investigate the lives of Susan Waters and Amy Tate. He scanned and typed, never taking his eyes off the screen.

Dean pulled out the parts to make a flame thrower for them to use to kill the mother changeling. He tightened a couple of screws and made sure the nozzle was clean before storing them back in the bag. Dean looked up when Sam suddenly straightened up with confident look on his face.

"Found her, it's Amy Tate. She was active on social media and in running marathons up until a month ago and it's like she disappeared from the scene. If the mother is a shapeshifter too, she could have taken the real Amy's place as a social worker."

"Do you have an address?"

"Yes."

"Let's go stake her place out and see if she will lead us to where the kids are stashed."

"Give me five minutes," Sam told him. He wrote down the directions to her house before stepping to the bathroom.

Dean shouldered the backpack and waited for his brother to come out of the bathroom so they could leave. He didn't have to wait long before Sam stepped out grabbing his jacket, nodding he was ready. They headed out the door and to the Impala. Sam read over the directions and they found the apartment building Amy Tate lived in.

"She drives a blue Honda and she's got an assigned space. We can park over there and see the lot and the front door," Sam suggested to Dean who pulled a lot nearby.

"How long should we wait?"

"If she's at a workshop it should be over with either three or four and if she doesn't make any stops coming home…I'd say she'd be here by five, at the latest."

"How do you know random things like that?" Dean asked giving his brother a perplexed look.

Sam gave him a bitch face and ignored the question as he put his attention back to watching for Amy Tate. After fifteen minutes, Dean was fidgeting in his seat, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, and making weird noises with his mouth.

"Really?" Sam finally asked losing patience with him.

"Okay, that's it; I'm going to scout out the area," Dean decided getting out leaving Sam alone in the car. He walked down the sidewalk by the apartment building and doubled back watching the cars that passed. They had been there for nearly an hour and if Sam was right, she would be coming home any time now. He found a bench nearby and took a seat checking his watch for the time. He didn't have to wait long when a blue Honda drove by and turned into the parking lot. Dean watched the car slowly drive around and park. A woman got out and opened the back to grab several bags before heading toward the building. He got up and made his way back to the car and dropped into the driver's seat. "Let's hope she decides go back out soon."

"Maybe Cara's foster kid will call her when he finds her gone," Sam offered.

"Hey, check it out," Dean said sitting up when Amy came running out of the door and to her car. "This is it." He cranked the Impala and pulled to the exit waiting for the Honda to go by so he could follow.

"Don't get too close," Sam cautioned as he kept his eyes on the Honda watching it turn up ahead.

"I know," Dean said. "I have done this before you know," he replied sarcastically.

They followed the Honda across town to Cara's house and watched as she went to the door to ring the bell. The door was opened by a young boy that looked eight or nine years old. She took him back to the car and left with the brothers following her. She led them to a warehouse district where she stopped and used a remote to open a side door pulling her car inside and closing it.

"That must be where she has them," Dean said.

He parked beside another building and they got out. Sam grabbed the duffle and they headed for the warehouse to find a way inside. Dean picked the lock on a side door and checked for an alarm before carefully easing it open. Once they were inside, Sam opened the duffle and passed one of their make-shift flame throwers to Dean. He took the other and pulled out a lighter as he followed Dean into the building. They saw the car parked at the front of the space, but no sign of anyone. Dean nodded for him to go left as he went right to try and find where Amy and the child went.

The place was dark and musty smelling but seemed to be empty of any contents. It was lit only by a few emergency lights that didn't help much. The brothers moved like ghosts through the empty building searching for any clues to where the changelings had gone.

Sam moved through the dimly lit building listening for noises that would guide him to the changelings. He heard something ahead of him and made ready to light his thrower as he moved closer. He didn't find anything and continued, seeing some stairs going up and after looking around headed up them.

Dean checked the rooms as he moved by them but didn't find anything in them. He kept to the shadows as he moved deeper into the building when he spotted stairs going down to another level. Thinking that would be a good place to stash the kids, he sent a quick text to his brother for him to find the stairs going down and join him. He took each step carefully, trying to be quiet as he reached the lower level.

He had only taken a couple of steps toward what looked like a lit room when a small shape suddenly attacked, knocking him backwards and dislodging his weapon. He went down hard, getting the breath knocked out him. Dean was able to use his bent knee to knock the boy back and was trying to scoot away when a whoosh of fire swept by him toward the boy. He watched as the child caught fire and stumbled backward screaming in rage before he burnt to ash.

"What did you do?" the mother changeling screeched as she attacked Sam sending him into a wall. She reached down to grab him by the neck but was stopped by Dean who had retrieved his flame thrower and lit it, engulfing her with fire. She tried to reach him as she stumbled his way only to be consumed by the flames before making it three steps. Ash floated through the air settling in a small pile on the floor.

"You okay bro?" Dean asked looking over at Sam as he tried to push himself up from the floor.

"Think so," Sam grunted checking him arm hoping it wasn't broken.

Dean kept the weapon ready to use and advanced toward the light with Sam following. They found crude cages with kids in them and in the last one was the real Amy Tate.

"Hold on guys, we're going to get you out of here," Dean told them looking at the cages and seeing locks chaining the doors closed. He looked around until he found a pipe and began to break the locks off.

Sam helped the kids out, seeing some were weak from being fed on. "Can you walk?" he asked Amy helping her to stand.

"I think so," she whispered using the cages as support. "What happened to us?"

"The best thing you can do is tell the cops you were kidnapped and were able to get free," Dean told her. "We'll get you guys out of here and call the cops to come help you."

"Thank you," she said.

Sam picked one child that seemed the weakest up with his good arm while Dean got the kids moving toward the stairs. They made their way up the steps and guided the victims to the side door and got them outside.

"We'll call the cops but can't hang around until they get here," Dean told Amy. "It would be a good idea that you forgot about us okay?"

"Are you sure? You saved our lives; don't you want the recognition?"

"Nope, you take it. Just take care of yourself."

The brothers headed back to the Impala and Sam put in a call to the locals so they would come and help Amy and the kids. Dean headed back to the motel so they could pack to leave town. The monster had been dealt with and it was time to leave. They packed quickly and drove toward the interstate heading toward Sioux Falls for now unless they ran across another hunt along the way.

The End