Somehow, Zoe had convinced the brothers Winchester to allow her to join them on their next hunt. Dean of course was reluctant, not wanting to have her be a liability, but Sam insisted that she could help, or, as Zoe suggested, be useful in the research department if all else failed. So now she lay down on a motel couch, listening to rain on her phone, while she considered her life choices.

She had made a big mistake.

She had majorly fucked up. Not even that kid from Doctor Who fucked up as much as she just did. Her phone continued to play the sound of rain, but Zoe paid no attention to it. How? How could she have forgotten that small part?

Oh right, she never watched season four enough to pay enough attention to detail. It was times like these, she wished season 5 would come quicker. Maybe the angels would find a way to fix it...maybe she already fucked up majorly and Castiel went to ask Michael about what she meant with the seals.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

She closed her eyes and tried to breathe. She retreated into her mind, imagining herself in an attic, surrounded by clutter. The Attic. A trick she'd picked up after watching Sherlock. Though not as sophisticated as his, Zoe's own mind palace was still relatively organized.

"Don't you ever clean?"

Zoe froze. She knew that voice. Slowly she turned around to see the last person she would have ever wanted to meet.

"Hello," Zachariah said smugly, "Zoe right? Please, sit down."

Zoe sat down on a green bean bag that had materialized behind her, practically shaking, while Zachariah pushed away a few toys from a chair before sitting down. He wore what he always wore: black suit, and a smug look that would make even Umbridge uncomfortable.

"So ,I hear you're not from around here," Zachariah said, "From another universe, in fact. Tell me what's it like?"

She shrugged, as her voice decided to malfunction. This was bad. This was very bad.

"It must be lonely," Zachariah said, "Being so far from home."

Her heart hammered away at her chest. Her mind had gone blank, and in that moment, Zoe couldn't move. Metatron, she could face down, maybe even start a book discussion with him, but Zachariah? He terrified her. He'd do anything to get what he wants, regardless of how he got there.

"Relax, kiddo," the angel said, "I'm on strict orders to not harm a hair on your head, considering, that is, if you keep quiet."

Quiet? For what?

"You know what," Zachariah said, but when Zoe didn't answer, he added, "Lilith. The seals. Lucifer's cage. Ringing a bell?"

Oh. That.

"See," Zachariah said standing up, "You know we won't be stopping the seals. Had a little peek in that head of yours, and what I could gather, you know what we're really up to."

He was going to kill her. Well, Zoe at least hoped the Winchesters would avenge her death, maybe she'll even wake up back home, and put all this behind her.

"Now, Michael for some reason," Zachariah continued, "Allowed your little slip up with Castiel. We removed that part of his memories, so we're letting you off with a warning. Keep quiet and nothing will happen to you. Understand?"

Yup. Perfectly. Crystal clear.

Zachariah smiled, "Good."

…

Zoe woke up to the sound of arguing. Their motel room had been small, and Zoe had commandeered a comfortable spot in the couch in the living room. Unfortunately for her, she should have accepted Sam's offer of the second twin bed because the brothers seemed to have turned the living room into their shouting match arena. Scowling, she pushed herself up and unplugged her ear phones and put on her glasses, just in time to see Dean punch Sam. Did she miss something? She must have because she overslept.

And yet her conversation with Zachariah was still very vivid.

"You satisfied?" Sam asked, pushing himself upright.

Dean hit him again. Zoe noticed Sam bleeding more his mouth and winced.

"I guess not," Sam concluded.

"Do you even know how far off the reservation you've gone?" Dean asked, "How far from normal? From human?"

"I'm just exorcising demons," Sam defended.

"With your mind!" Dean shouted, but then said calmer, "What else can you do?"

"I can send them back to hell," Sam answered, "It only works with demons, and that's it."

Dean didn't believe him and pushing him backwards, "What else can you do?!"

She should intervene. Zoe should definitely intervene, and stop them before they did anything stupid. And yet she didn't want the wrath of Dean Winchester come down on her. Instead she stood still, watching the scene unfold before her.

"I told you!" Sam said pushing away his brother's hand.

"And I have every reason in the world to believe that," Dean said and walked away from his brother.

Zoe shrunk back, not meeting his gaze. Instead she glanced at Sam who tried to approach his brother.

"Look, I should have said something," Sam began. Dean stopped, back still to his brother, "I'm sorry, Dean. I am. But try to see the other side here."

Nice to know those four years at Stanford worked, Sammy. Because that's exactly how you diffuse a situation with your pissed off brother.

"The other side?" Dean repeated.

"I'm pulling demons out of innocent people."

Good point Sammy.

"Use the knife!"

Also a good point Dean.

"The knife kills the victim!" Sam pointed out, "What I do, most of them survive! Look, I've saved more people in the last five months than we save in a year."

"That what Ruby want you to think?" Dean asked, "Huh? Kind of like the way she tricked you into using your powers?" He shook his head, "Slippery slope, brother. Just wait and see. Because it's gonna get darker and darker, and God knows where it ends." He turned to Zoe, "Did you know about this?"

"I can neither confirm or deny that statement without the presence of a lawyer," Zoe said automatically.

"Leave her out of this, Dean. I won't let it go too far," Sam insisted.

Dean smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. He walked over to the wall and hit the lamp, causing it to crash and fall off. When he turned to look at Sam, his face was thunderous."

"It's already gone too far, Sam" he said, "If I didn't know you... I would wanna hunt you. And so would other hunters."

Zoe winced and bit her lip. These guys were brothers. It was like watching the episode all over again except now she knew them personally, and that only made things worse.

"You were gone," Sam pointed out, "I was here. I had to keep on fighting without you. And what I'm doing... It works."

Was this how children felt when they saw their parents fight? Well...considering Sam was the closest thing she had to a father figure here...did that make Bobby her grandfather figure?

"Well, tell me," Dean asked, "If it's so terrific... then why'd you lie about it to me?" When Sam didn't answer, Dean continued, "Why did an angel tell me to stop you?"

At that Sam looked up surprised, "What?"

"Cas said that if I don't stop you, he will," the elder Winchester explained, "See what that means, Sam? That means that God or Michael, or whoever is in charge, doesn't want you doing this. So, are you just gonna stand there and tell me everything is all good?"

Zoe slowly made her way around the brothers in search of her bag. Neither brother said anything, and when she closed the door to the bathroom, Sam was talking on the phone. Dean glanced at her briefly before she shut the door.

…

The trees blurred past the windows, a sign that there would be no civilization for another hour. Zoe yawned and turned her head to listen to Dean's retelling of his adventure through time. She rested her elbows on their seats to better hear their boy melodrama scene. She always did love the bonding moments.

"I can't believe it," Sam said, "Mom, a hunter?"

"I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't seen it myself," Dean nodded, "That woman could kick some ass. I mean, she almost took me down."

"John's a Man of Letters," Zoe said. The brothers glanced at her and Zoe waved their hands dismissively, "You'll find out about later. They're like the library of Alexandria for Monsters. There's a bunker in Lebanon, Kansas…I think. But you need a key to get in."

Sam shook his head, "How'd she look? I mean... was she happy?"

"Yeah, she was awesome. Funny and smart. So hopeful."

Dean glanced briefly before he turned his eyes to the road, and added, "Dad, too. Until of course..." He trailed off and Sam sighed. "What?"

Zoe wondered if she needed to pee.

"Nothing," Sam said, silent for a moment before he turned back to Dean and said, "It's just, our parents. And now we find out our grandparents too? Our whole family murdered and for what? So Yellow Eyes could get in my nursery and bleed in my mouth?"

Zoe could practically see the gears turning in Dean's head as he thought over that statement, "Sam, I never said anything about demon blood. You knew about that?"

When Sam didn't say anything, Zoe came to the rescue, "I told him. Let it slip way back when he found me. I thought he knew."

Dean glanced at Sam, unconvinced before turning his eyes on the road. Sam mouthed a small thank you and Zoe patted his shoulder before lying down on the backseat.

Yes. She needed to pee.

"Hey Dean-o?"

"Yeah?"

"I need to pee."

...

"Are you sure that's him?" Dean asked holding up the binoculars to spy in Jack.

Zoe nodded, while eating her dinner: fajitas, sausage and pieces of chicken. She practically forced Dean to stop the car and to get them the food, exclaiming how much she missed true Mexican food, while claiming anything up north was nothing more than fake imitation. Texas had the real Mex food. They also stopped to fill up the tank and use the facilities.

Dean had rented them a room, one with a pull out bed early on. They would have left Zoe at the room, but she insisted on coming, pointing out that she wasn't busy and that she'd be no bother. They caved in the end.

"Only Jack Montgomery in town," Sam pointed out.

"And we're looking for..."

Sam shrugged, "Travis said to keep an eye out for anything weird."

"Weird?" Dean repeated.

"Yeah."

Dean glanced back at the house, "Alright, well, yeah, I've seen big weird, little weird, weird with crazy on top. But this guy? I mean, come on, this guy's boring."

"I don't know, Dean," Sam said, "Travis seemed pretty sure."

Zoe thought for a moment, going over her mental archive of Supernatural episode. Jack Montgomery. Now why did that name sound familiar.

After a moment, Sam said, "I'd say that qualifies as weird."

"What?" Zoe asked.

"He's eating raw meat," Sam said putting away his binoculars while Dean started the car.

Well that narrowed it down tremendously. Zoe knew exactly where they were.

"Metamorphosis," she said suddenly.

"What?" Dean asked.

"Season four episode four," Zoe explained, "The Rugaru episode. Jack's a Rugaru."

"Rugaru?" the elder Winchester repeated, "The hell's a Rugaru? That sounds made up."

Zoe grimaced as she tried to think, "Er...man eating creature. Sorta like a Wendigo."

"Great."

...

They arrived at the motel a few minutes later, and Zoe was ready to make use of the pull out bed. She almost bumped into Sam when he stopped, looking at something in the room, and so poked her head from under Dean's arm to look inside.

An older man with a bandaged arm sat by the table, beer in hand.

Sam spoke first, "Travis."

"See, Sam," Dean said turning to his brother with a smile, "Told you we should have hid the beer."

Travis smiled and got up, "Smart ass. Get over here." He pulled each brother into a hug, "Ah, good to see you both. And who's this? One of yours?"

Zoe blinked. Was he talking about her? Must be because he was looking at her. A Winchester's kid? As if.

"Travis this is Zoe," Sam said, "She's just someone I picked up a few months ago."

"Hunter's kid?" Travis asked.

Zoe shook her head, "Traveler. Pleased to meet you."

Travis nodded, shaking Zoe's hand and turned to Sam, "Man, you got tall, kid." They laughed, and Travis said, "How long has it been?"

Zoe continued to eat her food. Oh how she missed grilled fajitas, and sausage, and chicken.

"Ah," Sam thought for a moment, "gotta be 10 years."

Course her dad had a trick for keeping the meat soft, and even though these were hard. Zoe wasn't complaining.

"You still a..." Travis paused, trying to think of the word, "oh, what was it... a Mathlete?"

Sam began to say no, but Dean interrupted him, "Yep, sure is."

"Been too long, boys," Travis shook his head and regarded the brothers, "I mean, look at you. Grown men. John would have been damn proud of you. Sticking together like this.

"Yeah," Dean agreed, "Yeah, we're as thick as thieves. Nothing more important than family."

Zoe glanced at Sam who's smile had disappeared, and shook her head. Typical Dean.

"Sorry I'm late for the dance," Travis continued, oblivious to the exchange between the brothers, "Thanks for helping out an old man. I'm a little, uh, shorthanded." He motioned to his arm, and they laughed. "So, you track down Montgomery?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded, "we found him at his home."

"And?"Travis asked.

"Well," Dean added, "he had a hell of a case of the munchies, topped off with a burger he forgot to cook. Kid says he's a Rugaru."

Travis turned to Zoe, "You seen one of these things before?"

Zoe shook her head. Thank God no. "Just heard of them."

"Well that's him alright," Travis nodded.

"What exactly is a Rugaru.?" Sam asked. "Zoe said they're like Wendigos."

"They're mean, nasty little suckers," the older hunter explained, "Rotted teeth, wormy skin, the works."

"Well, that ain't this guy," Dean pointed out, "I mean, he was wearing a cellphone on his belt."

"He'll turn ugly soon enough," Travis promised, "They start out human, for all intents and purposes."

"So, what?" Sam asked, "They go through some kind of metamorphosis?"

"Yep, like a maggot turning into a bull fly," Travis said with a nod, "But most of all they're hungry."

"Hungry for what?" The older Winchester asked curious.

"At first, for everything," answered Travis, "but then... for long pig."

Zoe and Sam grimaced, though Dean didn't understand.

"Long pig?" Dean asked.

"Homo Sapiens," Zoe said.

"And that is my word of the day," he declared.

"Hunger grows in," Travis continued, "till they can't fight it. Till they got to take themselves a big, juicy chomp, and then it happens."

"What happens?" Sam asked.

Ain't it obvious Sammy?

"They transform completely and fast."

Le gasp! Zoe tossed the empty aluminum into the trash bin.

"One bite's all it takes. Eyes, teeth, skin; all turns. No going back either. They feed once, they're a monster forever. And our man Jack's headed there on a bullet train."

Dean frowned, "Well, how'd you find this guy if he's a walking, talking human?"

Zoe rummaged through the small refrigerator for water, pushing aside the beers.

"Lets just say it runs in his family," Travis replied.

"You mean, uh..."

"Killed his daddy back in '78," Travis explained, "Son of a bitch mangled 8 bodies before I put him down. Guy used to be a dentist. Cadillac, trophy wife... Little did I know, pregnant trophy wife. She put the boy up for adoption. By the time I found out, he was long gone, lost in the system."

Sam was in disbelief, "You mean to tell me you couldn't find someone?"

Beer. Beer. Beer. Opened can of beer. Leftovers. Sam's nasty vitamin water thing.

Travis sighed, "I'm not sure I wanted to. The idea of hunting down some poor kid... I don't think I'd have the heart. No. I wanted to wait, make damn sure I had the right man. Apparently, I do."

Zoe gave a cry of victory when she found a water bottle.

Zoe dozed off on the couch. Sam had left earlier to do some research on Rugaru lore. Zoe would've gone with him had she had the energy to move. The couch turned out to be incredibly comfortable, though she was curious as to what the remaining Winchester was doing and watched him instead. He and Travis seemed to be making homemade blowtorches.

"So fire, huh?" Dean asked.

"The only way I found to kill these bastards; deep-fry 'em."

Zoe remembered something about a deep-fried archangel and silently chuckled. She sincerely hoped she'd get to meet Gabriel. He was by far her favorite character.

"Well, that's gonna be... horrible. Is that what you did to Jack's dad?"

"Uh-huh."

Sam came in with papers in hand. Immediately, the teenager straightened up, curious to see what the papers said.

"Not wasting any time, are you?" he asked.

"None to waste," Travis pointed out, "The guy hulks out, we won't be finding bodies, just remains."

Sam sat down at the bed next to table, while Zoe leaned forward and took the topmost paper and began reading. Rugaru lore. Interesting.

"What if he doesn't hulk out?" Sam asked, and at the others look, he continued, "I did a little homework. Uh, I've been checking out the lore on Rugarus."

Zoe wondered if chopping off the heads was more effective than fire.

"What?" Travis asked offended. "My 30 years of experience not good enough for you?

Or maybe chopping off the head and burning it. Kill the head. Kill the body.

"What? No," Sam said quickly, "No, I-I- I just wanted to be prepared. I mean, not that you didn't.."

Huh...according to one legend they are under the spell for 101 days.

"Sam loves research,"' Dean explained, "He does. He keeps it under his mattress right next to his KY. It's a sickness." Dean looked at his brother's bitchface, "It is."

"Look," Sam ignored him and returned to the subject at hand, "everything you said checked out, of course, but uh. I found a couple of interesting stories about people who have this Rugaru gene or whatever. See, they start to turn, but they never take the final step."

"Really?" Dean asked.

"See," Sam continued, "if they never eat human flesh, they don't fully transform."

"So what? Go vegan, stay human?"

"Basically," Sam said, "Or in this case, eat a lot of raw meat, just not..."

"Long pig," Dean finished.

"Or you could wait 101 days," Zoe pipped, "According to some of the lore the Rugaru is under the spell for 101 days. If we give the guy a chance, he could be fine after that. According to Native American lore, if a rugaru doesn't take a bite of people, then it'll return to a normal human being. "

Travis, who had been silent at the time, spoke up, "Good on you for the due diligence, Sam." He stood and poured himself a cup of coffee, "But those are fairy tales. Fact is, every Rugaru I ever saw or heard of... took that bite."

Sam however, was not one to give up easily, "Okay, well, that doesn't mean that Jack will."

"So what do we do?" Travis asked, "Sit and hope and wait for a body count?"

Pretty much. Jack was a pretty okay guy from what Zoe remembered, and unless she was wrong, he only took the bite after Travis threatening him and the wife.

"No, we talk to him," Sam insisted, "Explain what's happening. That way he can fight it."

"Fight it?" Travis laughed, "Are you kidding me? You ever been really hungry?"

That got Deans attention. He snatched Zoe's paper from her hands and began to skim through it.

"I mean, haven't-eaten-in-days hungry?"

Dean nodded, "Yeah."

"Yeah. Right then," Travis said, "So somebody slaps a big, juicy sirloin in front of you, you walking away?"

"Yes," Zoe said. "If three yappy chihuahuas can ignore a grill happening five feet away, then Jack Montgomery can not take the last step to become a rugaru."

Touche.

Dean didn't respond and Zoe took the bottom most paper from his hands.

Travis sighed, and said, "I'm sorry. I'm sure he's a stand-up guy, but it's pure, base instinct. Everything in nature's gotta eat. You think he can stop himself 'cause he's nice?"

"I don't know," Sam admitted, but added firmly, "But we're not gonna kill him unless he does something to get killed for."

Zoe glanced at Dean. Well that hit way too close for home.

Dean looked over at Sam, who took a few deep breaths and walked out of the room. When Zoe made to follow, Sam shook his head and Zoe sat down with a huff. Well then. Travis looked over at Dean, puzzled by Sam's reaction.

"What's up with your brother?"

Dean looked at the door and then at Travis, "Don't get me started."

The sun poured into the motel room, waking the teenager from her slumber. Her dreams had been uneventful as usual. It was strange, to have uneventful dreams. Apart from her conversation with Zachariah, she hadn't had any memorable dream, no dragons turned horses, or trips home via underground jungle where her classmates were reduced to nothing more than cowardly companions.

She woke up early enough to join Sam and Dean to talk to Jack Montgomery. The boys began to walk up the steps to the backyard, but Zoe stopped them and led them to the front door.

"Let me do the talking," Zoe said.

"Why?" Dean asked, frowning.

"Because if you tell him straight out he's dangerous, he's not going to believe you," Zoe said.

Dean looked like he was about to argue, but Sam convinced him to let Zoe handle this. Zoe took a deep breath and sent Gabriel a small prayer. The patron saint of communication was her only chance in Jack Montgomery believing them.

She rang the doorbell and Mrs. Montgomery answered.

"Can I help you?" Mrs. Montgomery asked.

"Is your husband home, Mrs. Montgomery?" Zoe asked.

Mrs. Montgomery looked behind her and said, "Jack? Why? Is something wrong?"

"It's best if we talk inside."

The look on their faces seemed to be enough of an answer. Worried, Mrs. Montgomery called her husband into the living room. Jack Montgomery was a decently handsome man. He reminded Zoe of someone out of a fifties movie with his clothes and hair styled back.

"Something wrong?" he asked as he eyed Sam and Dean.

Sam and Dean for their part seemed to let Zoe do the talking.

"Mr. Montgomery," Zoe said, standing with her hand extended. "My name is Zoe Martinez. This is Dean Winchester, and his brother Sam Winchester."

Mr. Montgomery shook their hands, but continued to be weary.

"Could you sit down, Mr. Montgomery?" Zoe asked.

Jack Montgomery did as he was asked, gripping his wife's hand tightly.

"So," Zoe said, trying to keep as calm as possible, "I really don't know how else to put this, but you're a Rugaru, Mr. Montgomery."

"I'm a what?" he asked.

"A Rugaru," Zoe repeated. "It's a cannibalistic creature from Native American myth. It's what your father was, and what you are, and what your child is."

"You're crazy," Jack Montgomery scoffed. "My father-"

"I'm sure you know you were adopted," Zoe said. "And I know that your wife is pregnant."

He looked at his wife who said, "I was going to tell you. I just wanted to be sure, but how—"

"Let's just say I know a lot of things I shouldn't," Zoe said.

"So you've been spying on me and my wife?" Montgomery asked, standing up.

Zoe remained seated, though Sam and Dean tensed, "Your father was a Rugaru, no doubt your age when he began changing. Tell me, have you felt the shifting bones beneath your skin? Or an insatiable hunger? Surely Mrs. Montgomery you've noticed your husband has been acting strange."

Mrs. Montogmery's hand went to her shoulder, and she looked at her husband.

"It always starts small," Zoe continued. "You'll get hungry for raw meat. Insatiable, like you just can't get full. Then it grows and suddenly you see your loved ones as no different than a burger, and when that happens, well…that's what Sam and Dean do. They hunt and kill creatures that kill people."

"Jack?" Mrs. Montgomery said looking at her husband.

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked, looking at them.

"Because we think we found a way to help you," Sam said, giving Jack one of the printed out pages of Rugaru lore. "According to some legends, if we wait for 101 days, then you will return to normal."

"And if I don't do this?" he asked.

"The only way to permanently kill a Rugaru is with fire," Zoe said. "We don't want it to come to that."

"So, what's your plan?" Jack Montgomery asked.

"And there's my cue."

A familiar golden-haired man appeared in the living room, startling everyone except Zoe.

"Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery meet Loki, the Norse Trickster God."

So I might have lied.

I shall explain my reasoning in the next chapter if anyone is interested.

As always, tell me what you thought, what you liked or what you hated. I am open to all kinds of feedback. If you think this fic is a piece of shit or not.

(Though I'll never demand for reviews. Though they do encourage the writing)