I circle another spot on the map and frown as I look at the result. There's something about the pattern that really bothers me, but I can't quite put my finger on exactly what it is. Other than the fact that each circle represented another disappearance. Another person who had vanished without a trace. There were far too many of them in far too short an amount of time in the same area to be just coincidental.

I tried to figure out something that connected them, but there didn't seem to be anything other than location and opportunity. Most of them were young people, but there were a few older ones as well. Some men. Some women. Race wasn't a factor. The only thing I could find, and that was grasping at straws, was that they all seemed to be in top physical condition and were at least reasonably attractive.

It really wasn't much to go on, though. I stared at the map, hoping the answer would pop out at me, but it remained elusive. Still, we had a destination now. I glanced over at Dean who was still sleeping. Which I should be as well, considering it was not even 5am. But I tried that once already and it didn't go so well. I rubbed my temple absently. Truth was, I was exhausted but the idea of sleeping...of opening myself up to another nightmare...I just couldn't face it tonight.

Of course Dean would kill me if I woke him this early to get a head start. And we weren't too far from the crux of the pattern on the map, so using the excuse of 'a long way to go' wasn't going to cut it. Maybe I'd just go out and find us some breakfast. By the time I got back, Dean would maybe be ready to get up. After getting dressed and jotting a quick note to Dean, I quietly collected my keys and wallet and slipped from the hotel room.

I headed back to the room with the best provisions I could find at such an early hour. Donuts...not the best, but passable, and of course the mandatory coffee. Not sure I could survive without the stuff. Even if it wasn't the best I'd had, it was far better than going without. I'd even drained my first cup and grabbed a second before heading back to the room. It was still too early to wake Dean, but maybe I could lie down for a few minutes or something. I quietly let myself into the room and set the coffee on the table. I turn around and am startled to see that Dean is already awake. "Morning," I greet, tossing the bag of donuts at...to him. Really.

I smile slightly and he just glares, grabbing the bag quickly. "Where the hell were you Sam? I wake up and you are not even here. Did it even occur to you to leave a damn note?" He demands harshly, trying not to show concern. "Missed you too, Sunshine," I reply, picking up my note and handing it to him along with his cup of the coffee. I think he needs it more than I do this morning. He just winces and runs his hand through my hair. "Oh," he simply say.

I pick up the map and my own coffee and sit down on the bed across from him. "Okay, so I found some stuff last night," I inform him, getting right down to business. "Take a look at this..." I hand him the map, hoping that he'd see the thing in the pattern that I couldn't quite put my finger on. "Each one of these...a person has disappeared. All in the past 3 months. All at night. All without a trace."

"Okay so maybe there is a seriel killer running around or something. This doesn't exactly spell monster. I mean, how can you even be sure this is our sort of thing?" he asks. "I can't," I admit, though my gut tells me that it's definitely our sort of thing. "It's just a feeling. Hear me out, though. Serial killers usually have a clear pattern to their victim choices. There doesn't seem to be one here. And the victims are pretty spread out to be chosen based on neighborhood.

Plus...most serial killers are trying to send some sort of message; they usually want their victims to be found. There's not a trace of any of these people. No bodies, no...sightings. There's too many of them to just be coincidental disappearances." It still didn't rule out human involvement, I admitted to myself, trying not to think about the freaks in Minnesota. "We're in the area, though, so I'm thinking we should at least check it out."

"Alright. So maybe there is something going on. We will check it out," he says, downing the last of my coffee. "But first, I have to make a quick stop at the gas station across the street. Did you see the chick that works in there?Oh man." I raise my eyebrows and give him an exasperated look. "Do the words 'one track mind' mean anything to you?"

I smile, though, as I turn away from him and start shoving my things into my bag. Since the disappearances only seemed to happen at night and we were close by anyway, we could spare a few minutes to watch him get shot down. Then again, knowing him, he'd probably have her phone number in record time. If he didn't have it already...

"Told you I could do it," Dean says with a satisfied smirk as we leave the station only a few moments later, phone number and address in his hand. Unbelievable. Okay it's Dean, so not entirely unbelievable, but still. "I know where I'm going to be tonight if this gig turns out to be a bust," Dean says, getting in the impala next to me and turning the music up just to bug me. "So where is it that we are going exactly?"

"Well, it looks like most of the disappearances have been from the cities...Fallon, Carson City, Reno, Gardnerville. It makes sense that the source is somewhere in the middle here...along Route 50. I'd start in...Silver Springs," I inform him. "Riiight. Well, you would know. College boy," is his somewhat sardonic response as he starts the engine and peels out, making sure to first turn up the music up even louder since he knows how much I hate the song that is playing.

I glare over at Dean as he does this, but say nothing. It would only result in the radio turning up louder. I close my eyes and lean back in the seat doing my best to ignore the blaring radio as exhaustion starts catching up with me again. Unfortunately, only a few moments after I start to drift off I'm hit by a blinding flash of light, then I can see shadows...dancing. Then in another blare of light I can see a knife slashing down toward me. Before it hits, though, I force my eyes open and am hit with an excruciating headache. It takes all my willpower to not double over in the seat. As it is I can't stop the gasp of pain.