I'm back! The last few months have been really crazy with finals and all that wonderful junk, so this is about the first time I've had to write in a very, very long time. Hope you enjoy the new chapter. I'm going to complicate the story just a bit, but I'm sure you'll all like it. Just a very, very short summary of this chapter: Dean and Kira have a talk, Sam does research, and things get very strange for Jake. I'm going to dedicate this chapter to J. J. and Matty, my real life Sam and Dean. Reviews ALWAYS make me happy!

A/N: Originally I was going to have Jake and Kira have a very long conversation in the library, but I thought it would be more interesting to have Dean and Kira have the conversation because they don't get any quality time together. ;) Also, Sleepy Hollow is a real town in Illinois (I may have already mentioned this.) No, I do not live there, but I do have a connection to it. Everything about Sleepy Hollow in this story is to be entirely fictional. (I just don't want to offend anyone from the area or anything like that, so consider this a personal disclaimer.) There are some true elements, like the way the area looks, but that's about as far as the similarities go. The whole ghost story is entirely fabricated. In other words, no names in this story are real. Thanks for reading my potentially confusing note. On to the story.

Chapter 4

A Piece of the Puzzle

"So, what are we looking for?" Dean looked toward Sam, waiting for a response as Sam settle himself in front of one of the library's various microfiche machines.

"Newspaper articles dated before the houses were built. Anything involving the violent death of a man in the area. Something, anything that's going to give us any kind of clues telling us what attacked Kira in that basement."

"And we couldn't do this on a computer because…"

"I tried last night, and, apparently, this community is pretty tight-lipped about its past goings on to outsiders."

"Do you think that they're hiding something?" Dean asked, curiously.

"Maybe. I can't figure out if its just bad record keeping or someone trying to bury information. I figured we could come to the library and dig up some old newspaper records. If we can't find anything, I think it would be safe to say that someone is trying to cover something up." Dean shook his head in understanding.

"Well, while you're searching I'll be at the café downstairs. I need to get my daily caffeine fix." Dean stood up. "You want anything?"

"No, no. I'll get something later if I feel like it," Sam answered, clearly distracted by the articles that flew past on the screen. Somewhere in his mind he registered the sound of Dean's retreating footsteps. He wasn't going to leave this library without the information he was looking for.

Kira balanced precariously on a middle step of one of the ladders attached to the library's tall bookshelves. Gripping the edge of the shelf in front of her, she attempted to push herself over to the next row of books she had yet to peruse.

"You really shouldn't be up there, you know," a familiar, male voice stated, startling her. She jumped, slightly, slipping off of the steps of the ladder. Strong hands reached out to steady her.

"Thanks Dean," she managed to croak out, turning to face him. "Where's Sam?"

"He's looking at old newspaper article, trying to find information about your ghost. I left to get coffee. Care to join me?" Dean had asked this partially out of sheer politeness, and partially out of a need to get to know Kira better. He needed to what her real intentions were with Sam.

"Sure," she answered, climbing down, slowly. Dean steadied the ladder. He got a breathless, "thanks" for his efforts. "I'd hate to leave Jake, but I think he needed some time to take all of this in. He really doesn't believe in anything that you guys deal with. It's killing him that you are even here. He thinks you're feeding my," she paused, making quotation marks with her fingers, "paranoid delusions." Dean chuckled, slightly, shaking his head while following Kira through the stacks.

"Jake sounds like an interesting guy. You're good friends?" Dean half hoped that there was something between the two for Sam's sake. He really didn't need to be involved in a relationship so close to Jessica's death.

"Yes, but not how you're implying." Kira smirked. "Jake and I have known each other since we were seven. He moved in the house next door and we just became friends. That's all that it's ever been."

"Okay, okay." Dean held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. Kira laughed.

"I'm sorry. It's just , when you're in high school -I'm sure you remember- if you tell people that you are "just friends", people assume a whole lot more. I get too many questions about it, and this whole ghost thing has got me pushed to my breaking point. I'm just getting a bit irritable."

"Well, that's normal. I've got to say that you're taking this better than most people would." Dean stopped, waiting for her reaction. Kira's expression changed very little with his words. She gave him a sad half-smile, looking up at him as they both descended the staircase that lead to the lobby.

"Nothing really surprises me anymore. Since I started having my…dreams, I learned to stop being so naïve about everything supernatural. I did a lot of research, especially after my first vision that lasted more than a couple of seconds." There was a long pause before she went on. "It gets worse doesn't it?" Dean had to swallow the lump that was starting to form in his throat. Why did he feel like he was about to give her a death sentence?

"Sometimes," Dean whispered. Realizing that this was becoming dangerously close to one of those "chick flick" moments that he always dreaded, he cleared his throat,

"I really can't say. Sammy's only been having them for a few months. Sometimes they're just like normal dreams, but sometimes," he decided to be straight with her, "sometimes he gets waking visions that are painful. I'm not saying that's going to happen, but if you are looking for a straight answer, I won't lie to you. It could."

"Thanks Dean," she whispered, then her expression changed. "You know he really hates when you call him that."

"What, Sammy?" Dean laughed. "Boy, could I tell you some great stories about him." Dean held open the door for Kira as they walked into the café. He fully intended on embarrassing his brother. If she liked him, she would have to accept the full package.

"Well, this one time…"

His mind screamed at him to run faster. He could hear their footsteps come closer with each passing second. He knew he wouldn't be alive for much longer. Why hadn't they gotten out of town sooner? Quickly, he pushed that passing thought out of his mind, concentrating on weaving his way through the thickness of the woods. He could hardly see the path ahead of him. There was no moon that night.

"We can hear you! Don't bother running anymore! It's just going to make it harder when we get to you!" He could hear the familiar voice float above the tree line. Egan Gile had been the source of great trouble for him for as long as he could remember. Once, he had owed the man his life, but now he believed the man owed him many things.

None of this had truly been his fault. No one believed him anymore. The moment Egan had settled here, his control over everything had gone.

A sudden rustling of leaves to his right alerted him to the fact that they had surrounded him. He could do nothing more but be forced to meet them and pray for a fate that he could be content with.

"Why do you insist on making it so hard for everyone. Nobody cares for you anymore, Lucas." Gile emerged from the bushes in front of him, his voice low with malice. "It's over. Done. If you'd rather die with dignity, I would advise that you give yourself over to us." Lucas didn't even have to contemplate what Egan had said. He sunk to the ground in a gesture of defeat. He kept his eyes closed, unable to face the man who had ruined his life and was about to take it from him. Lucas could feel the cold end of a gun barrel settle against his temple. He vaguely registered the sound of the gun being cocked.

"Come on, Lucas. Face death like a man." He could feel a painful explosion rip through his head, cutting off his thoughts, permanently.

Jake awoke, breathing heavily, feeling a slight pressure on his shoulder.

"Hey, Jake, you okay." It was Sam. He slid his hand from Jake's shoulder and took a seat at the large wooden table across from him. Jake looked up from where his head had rested in his hands. He had fallen asleep waiting for Kira to come back with books on the history of Sleepy Hollow. He remembered thinking that she would understand if he dozed off for just a little bit. School had been a bit rough for the both of them lately.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I just fell asleep waiting for Kira. Where is she?" His grogginess suddenly turned to confusion.

"I don't know," Sam answered, deciding not to press any further with Jake. "but we'd better find Dean, too. I think I found something about our ghost."

Another cliffie! Are you that surprised? The next chapter will be out soon. I'm on a major writing kick, as of late. In the meantime, why don't you just click that little purple button in the lower left hand corner? You know you want to.:-)