A/N: Alrighty, chapter 3 with lyrics from Rob Zombie's Living Dead Girl. Music's a little darker and Ty's a little darker. I hope that the changes in her are becoming more apparent to you guys. Hopefully between this and the next chapter, it will become pretty clear what's going on with her. Then, the crap can really hit the fan. Please review.

Chapter Three: Living Dead Girl

(Who is this irresistible creature who has an insatiable love for the dead?)
Living Dead Girl!

Rage in the cage
And piss upon the stage
There's only one sure way
To bring the giant down
Defunct the strings
Of cemetery things
With one flat foot
On the devil's wing
Crawl on me
Sink into me
Die for me
Living Dead Girl
Raping the geek
And hustling the freak
Like a hunchback juice
On a sentimental noose
Operation filth
They love to love the wealth
Of an SS Whore
Making scary sounds
Crawl on me
Sink into me
Die for me
Living Dead Girl
Psyclone Jack
Hallucinating Hack
Thinks Donna Reed
Eats dollar bills
Goldfoot machine
Creates another fiend
So Beautiful,
They make you kill
Crawl on me
Sink into me
Die for me
Living Dead Girl
Blood on her skin
Dripping with Sin
Do it again
Living Dead Girl

Ty pulled her hair over one shoulder and wrapped it around her fist, wondering if it was long enough to strangle herself with. Anything would be better than this endless boredom. Seriously, if she had to listen to one more senior citizen spouting off for hours about the "good, old days," she was liable to hurt someone.

"...so I told Wendy that Howard would never take Betty to the dance." their current interviewee informed them with a wistful smile.

Ty pulled her hair across her throat and pulled. Sam nudged her in the ribs, causing her to almost jump in surprise and release her hair. Dean snickered softly, causing Ty's head to snap around towards him with a glare, mouthing a dirty word at him.

"That's wonderful, Harriet, but we want to know about Beth Ann." Sam urged with a soft smile and his wide, brown eyes.

"Oh, Beth Ann." Harriet said, a sad smile gracing her features, "Looked a lot like you do, young lady. My, what a spitfire she was. Always spoke just what was on her mind, didn't matter who she was talking to. You know she actually asked a boy to a dance before there was a Sadie Hawkins dance in these parts?"

"But then she died, right?" Dean interjected with his usual lack of tact.

"Dean!" Sam hissed.

Dean shrugged and Ty couldn't really blame him. She was dying for Harriet to cut to the chase, as well.

"Yes," Harriet nodded, oblivious to the interplay between the young hunters seated across from her, "she did. It was awful what happened to her."

Harriet's eyes had filled with moisture, glistening tears that threatened to spill. Ty shifted uncomfortably in her already uncomfortable chair. She wasn't thrilled to be in an old folks' home to begin with. Talking to a crying old lady tipped the scales of what she was able to deal with. Without even realizing what she was doing, Ty began searching for an escape, but was unable to find one that wouldn't draw the boys' attention.

"What happened, Harriet?" Sam asked, gently.

Harriet sniffed, bringing her hand up to cover her face as she composed herself, "She was dating this boy, Bobby Thompson, god rest him. They went on a drive and, I guess, Bobby didn't exactly act the gentleman. Beth Ann, being the girl she was, slapped Bobby across the face and told him she'd rather walk home even though they were out in the desert about a mile outside of town. When Bobby came back to the diner without Beth Ann, Wendy, Howard and I went to look for her. When we got there...she was just lying on the ground on the side of the road...and we saw...we saw..."

"What did you see?" Ty asked, sliding forward to the edge of her seat, desperate for the old lady to just spit out what she wanted to know.

"I know it sounds crazy, but...there was this...cowboy walking away from her and when we got closer, he...he disappeared." Harriet revealed, her voice dropping to a bare whisper.

The three hunters exchanged knowing looks before Sam turned back to Harriet, "Thanks, Harriet. That helps a lot."

Harriet merely nodded, still fighting to contain tears. Ty immediately took the opportunity to bolt out of her chair and towards the door. Dean was close behind and Sam followed after excusing them and thanking Harriet a final time.

"Well, that was a colossal waste of time!" Ty exclaimed as she burst out of the front doors of the Valley of the Sun Retirement Community, "Thanks, guys. Now we still know that we're looking for a homicidal cowboy who targets mouthy girls."

"Yeah, I think you struck out on this one, Sammy." Dean agreed.

"I don't think so." Sam shook his head, "Let's take a look down the road out of town."

With that Sam took the lead towards the Impala. Ty looked from Sam to Dean, somewhat stupefied. Dean shook his head, "Don't ask me. He does stuff like this."

Dean then dug his keys out of his jeans pocket and settled into his position in the driver's seat. Sam took shotgun and Ty climbed in the back, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu as she did so. It was almost like it was months ago and she was still hunting the demon, trying to stop the inevitable.

"Hey," Ty asked suddenly as Dean steered the car away from the building and out onto the street, "did you guys ever catch up with your dad?"

Ty noticed Sam stiffen in his seat and Dean's hands tighten on the wheel. It took a long moment before either responded verbally to her question.

"Dad's on some thing about a power struggle between the demons now that Old Yellow Eyes is gone." Dean finally answered, "He ditched us again 'cause he's afraid one of them might try to use Sam however Yellow Eyes wanted to."

"That's nuts!" Ty protested.

"You're telling me." Sam grumbled.

"Hey, one crazy hunter at a time. We knock some sense into Ty, then we can deal with Dad." Dean rebuked his brother.

"I resent that." Ty griped.

"Yeah, we know." Dean replied unapologetically.

Rather than reply, Ty decided that a quick slap to the back of Dean's head would adequately communicate her displeasure.

"Ow!" Dean yelped.

Ty just sat back in her seat, crossed her arms and smiled as she watched Dean rub at the back of his head, as if she'd done serious damage.

'Any brain damage he might have was there long before I came along.' Ty remarked to herself.

After a few moments of silence, Dean finally asked, "What are we looking for here, Sam?"

"I'll let you know when I see it." Sam answered, his gaze fixed on the passing scenery as they steadily progressed further outside of town.

The car plunged into silence for a few moments as Sam searched the countryside, Ty followed his gaze to try and see what he was looking for, and Dean tried to keep his impatience from showing with swiftly decreasing levels of success. He was soon shifting in his seat, fiddling with the radio, and repeatedly adjusting the height of his partially open window. Finally, he just couldn't take it anymore.

"Sam...?" he began to ask.

"Pull over." Sam interrupted.

Dean swiftly brought the car to a stop on the side of the road, then gazed at his brother questioningly. Sam, however, didn't notice because he was already climbing out of the car. Ty hurried to follow even though she had no idea what had attracted Sam's attention. All she could see in the area was normal desert scenery: rocks, cacti, prickly bushes and the occasional palo verde tree. Still, Sam seemed sure as he strode away from the road and into the surrounding desert and Ty trusted his judgment so she followed.

Sam stopped suddenly, squatting next to a pile of rocks. The rocks were interesting colors, as if someone had painted them a long time ago, but now most of the color had worn off or faded away. Ty tilted her head to one side as she examined them, looking for a pattern or something that would indicate to her what Sam's interest in the rocks might be. After a few seconds she decided they were just rocks scattered around randomly; she had nothing.

"Sam?" she questioned, watching as he picked up a few of the stones and examined them before placing them back on the ground.

"I think I know why there was a gap in the killings." Sam said, straightening slowly.

"Spill." Ty urged.

"This area is pretty close to the Apache reservation," Sam explained, "and those rocks were painted with sacred colors. I think that fifty years ago, the Native Americans knew what was happening and somehow contained it. Looks like whatever they did lasted for awhile, too, but not anymore. Maybe their lands got pushed back or people forgot about what they did and no one's been doing any upkeep...hell, maybe some flooding knocked it out, but the spirit's loose and probably even more pissed off."

Ty stared at Sam, stunned, "How the hell do you know this stuff?"

"Walking dictionary of weird." Dean called from where he was leaning against the car, observing their actions.

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother and started walking back towards the car, "I think of myself as more of an encyclopedia."

"Freak." Dean replied.

"Jerk." Sam immediately responded.

"Bitch." Dean automatically chimed.

"Children!" Ty interrupted before the argument could go any further, "Could we focus on fighting evil here for just a second?"

Dean and Sam both looked at her, Sam looking slightly guilty and Dean looking absolutely unrepentant. Ty could almost feel the clash between them as she glared back at Dean, forcing a sweet smile on her face, "How about you dig up the bastard for us, Dean?"

Dean smiled back, "Thought you didn't need our help."

Ty's smile slipped at that reminder, causing her to feel annoyance and anger shoot through her once again. It jarred her that Sam could just walk onto the scene of her hunt and solve the riddle like that. Well, so what? She was still learning and he had years of experience on her. Plus, even Dean thought he was a bit freaky with the tons of obscure knowledge he somehow kept stored in his brain. That didn't mean that she couldn't take it from here.

"Fine." Ty snapped, marching over to the trunk, wrenching it open and snatching a shovel out. She began to move gruffly past the boys back towards the spot where she would need to dig, but paused to whirl around and point the shovel handle at Dean menacingly, "I don't need your help."

"Fine." Dean repeated, eyebrows raised challengingly. He grinned at her, "Great."

"Stay out of my way!" Ty growled over her shoulder as she picked her spot to start digging.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Dean answered.

Ty stabbed the ground with the shovel, kicking it hard into the dirt with her foot, taking her aggression out on the ground as she unearthed her ghost. Sam moved to help, but Dean threw an arm out to catch him, pinning him to his spot with a look. Sam shifted uncomfortably, not particularly enjoying being drawn into their fighting, but remained where he was.

Minutes dragged onwards, slowly marching steadfastly towards an hour. Dean was doing his absolute best to piss Ty off, appearing completely at ease and unconcerned as he reclined against the Impala, even grabbing a magazine of questionable morality and flipping through it. Sam had taken to pacing up and down the road on the other side of the car, shooting concerned glances towards Ty and glares at his brother. At this time of year and with the sun drawing nearer the horizon, it wasn't really hot out, but the exertion had caused Ty to breathe heavily and sweat was dripping down her back and beading along her hairline. She was trying to work fast, knowing that if she didn't get to some remains before nightfall, the ghost would certainly show up and try to stop her. But it was hard going and her muscles were starting to protest despite her mind's urging. Despite her recently chosen occupation, Ty didn't have too much practice digging up hundred-year-old grave's as of yet. The ground was hard-packed and resistant to the shovel until she got a few feet down. Then, it was thicker and heavier for some reason. But Ty grit her teeth and kept at it, determined not to show weakness.

Sam, however, was becoming increasingly agitated the lower the sun's position in the sky. He tried not to say anything, knowing that interference would only escalate the situation, but he just couldn't take it anymore. If they didn't torch the bones soon, the ghost would be back, ready and willing to waste Ty. He simply could not continue to be inactive. So, he grabbed his brother by the shirt and dragged him around the car and out of earshot.

"What the hell, dude?" Dean demanded, brushing Sam off.

"You're a dick, you know that?" Sam snapped.

"She said she didn't need our help." Dean shrugged.

"You know she only said that because you keep holding it over her head. Acting like if she actually asked you for help, it would be like saying she can't do it herself. Why do you have to push her like that?"

"God, Sam. What are your periods in sync or something?"

Sam leveled his brother with his most serious look, "Stop being an ass just because you care about her and you're afraid for her."

All humor drained out of Dean's face and his voice was a cold command, "Stay out of it, Sam."

"And let you two kill each other? Let you drown in denial and repression? Yeah, I'll get right on that."

"Don't put this on me!" Dean protested, "This is about her and her trying to get herself killed!"

"Yeah, well you're doing a pretty good job of helping her out with that by leaving her out there to dig up a grave as the sun's setting!" Sam shot back, gesturing angrily in the direction where the girl in question was still busy digging.

Dean paused to take in the darkening sky, smeared with oranges and reds. Maybe Sam did have a point about that. Might put a bit of a dent in his teaching her a lesson if she wound up dead.

"Fine!" Dean conceded. He leaned in close, leveling a finger at Sam, "But this is the last time we're talking about this."

He didn't wait for Sam to answer, but turned his back on him and headed back towards Ty. This girl was seriously too much trouble. Not only did she stir up feelings Dean didn't want or need, but she had a knack for getting him in trouble. Dean wondered for a moment about what Sam had said. How did he know, anyway? Was it really because she was so much like him that Sam seemed to understand so well? That couldn't be it. No way in hell he was such a stubborn, irrational, reckless pain in the ass.

Dean looked up as he moved back to the side of the car Ty was on and froze. Ty was up to her elbows in a large hole in the ground and had a triumphant look on her face that could only mean she had finally found some remains. Behind her, the sun had just dipped below the mountains in the distance, leaving only the fading palate of colors behind it to mark its path. And between the sunset and Ty's confident smile stood a pale cowboy in tattered clothes, his eyes hidden under the brim of his hat, his lips curled upwards, and his six-shooter trained on the back of Ty's head.

Dean could almost see the wheels turning as Ty took in the look on his face. Her smile gradually disappeared and she slowly turned around. Dean saw it all as if it was in slow motion. And he knew with absolute certainty that she wouldn't be able to react fast enough. Coupled with this fact in his mind was a second absolute truth: he could not watch her die a second time.

Dean blinked and his gun was in his hand, aimed at the cowboy's chest. Even at this distance he could see the tightening of the cowboy's hand as he squeezed the trigger. Dean fired as quickly and as rapidly as he could, launching into a flat-out run towards Ty. He hit the ghost twice in the chest before it disappeared, allowing the other shots Dean fired to pass through empty air. Dean stopped firing, but didn't slow, knowing that with his bones exposed, the ghost wouldn't be gone for long. With his eyes focused on his adversary, Dean had lost track of Ty, knowing only that the ghost had gotten off one shot and that one shot was enough. He slid to a stop at the edge of the hole Ty had dug, heart pounding in his chest.

"Holy shit!" Ty exclaimed, slowly standing back up.

Dean exhaled a sigh of relief, realizing that she had just ducked, that she hadn't been hit. And yet, his gut told him that the danger hadn't passed, so he continued to move quickly, reaching down to grab her arm and haul her out of the hole. Ty automatically struggled against the rough handling, but despite her protest still found herself being pulled out of the pit she'd dug and shoved behind Dean. Ty was tempted to shove him from behind and send him flying into the hole he'd just pulled her out of, but resisted the urge, instead drawing her gun and looking around for any sign of her undead desperado friend.

Movement out of the corner of Ty's eye drew her attention and she turned to find the cowboy rematerializing. She raised her gun, cradling the weapon in both hands as she aimed.

"Looking for me, you son of a bitch?" she taunted.

"Damn right, I am." the cowboy growled in reply, his gun aimed at Ty in return.

Ty's finger tensed around the trigger when suddenly something slammed into her right side. She fired on impulse, but her shot missed its target as she was sent flying to the ground. More gunfire sounded around her and it took Ty's brain a second to catch up and sort it all out. Dean had knocked her to the ground, the ghost had fired and Dean had returned the action in kind.

"Damn it, Dean!" Ty snapped, struggling to shove him off of her.

"Keep down." Dean snarled, pushing her back into the dirt, his body sprawled over her and pinning her down, "Sam! Torch this asshole!"

Ty just caught site of Sam sprinting over to the remains and swiftly coating them with salt and gasoline. Meanwhile, Dean continued to exchange gunfire with the appearing and disappearing ghost, keeping him away from Sam. Heedless of the dangers of jostling a man firing a gun, Ty struggled to get back to her feet, desperate to get back into the action.

"Just the spot for ya, ain't it?" the cowboy drawled at her with a sneer, "Knew you couldn't take me down on your own."

Ty just growled in reply, kicking at Dean to try and dislodge him. She finally managed to squirm free of his grasp and scramble back to her feet just as Sam dropped a match on the remains. Ty fired one more bullet, striking the ghost right between the eyes as he screamed in fury. He also got off one last round before he turned to ash along with his bones. Ty felt the bullet breeze just past her ear. She spun around, eyes following its path to see that it had landed in a saguaro almost directly behind her.

It was over. Her hunt...

"You asshole!" Ty screamed, whirling on Dean.

Dean just blinked at her. Ty couldn't tell if his expression was one of apathy or ignorance, but it didn't matter. This had been her hunt and he had charged in where he wasn't welcome, acting like a chauvinistic ass, pushing her face in the dirt right when she most needed to be a part of the fight. Words couldn't quite encompass just how furious she was. She shook with the anger pounding through her veins. She could hardly even think, she was so mad. Half-formed furious accusations chased themselves around her thoughts.

'How dare he...! Didn't he know...? Hadn't they agreed...? What did he...? God, he was so...! He obviously didn't respect her at all or think that...! God!' she screamed in her head.

Ty turned and stiffly walked back towards the car. Sam and Dean exchanged a look, confused by her silence. She should be screaming at the top of her lungs, maybe even taking a few swings at Dean, and yet she had stopped after one insult and silently walked back to the car. What the hell did that mean?

"Ty?" Sam asked, following her to the Impala.

Ty ignored him. She opened the door to the rear seat and climbed in. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her eyes still smoldered with rage, but she said nothing, just stared out the window away from the Winchester brothers. Sam glanced back at his brother again, concern etched across his handsome features. Dean merely shrugged and picked up the shovel and trudged back to the car. He tossed the shovel back into the trunk and then took up his place in the driver's seat. Sam hesitantly joined them, opening the passenger door and sliding in. Dean started the car and turned it around, pointing it back towards the city.

The silence was awkward, the tension stifling. Sam shifted uncomfortably, wishing he was elsewhere. Dean pretended he didn't notice and turned the radio on, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel. Ty spent the entire ride back to the city in a full-out resolute silence, glaring broodingly out the window and refusing to acknowledge either Winchester's existence. She could feel Sam's gaze as he looked at her worriedly, caught him glaring at his brother also when he proved too stubborn to even try to make amends with her, but was too furious to risk speaking at all, even if it was just to Sam. She knew that really wasn't fair to Sam, though, so she spent part of her time sulking and the other part trying to calm down enough to form words without losing it completely.

When Ty caught sight of a particular neon sign approaching through the windshield, she suddenly found the composure to say, "Sam, tell Dean to pull over."

"Why?" Dean growled before Sam could even think about repeating her words.

Ty ignored him.

"You're not really going to be this childish, are you?" Dean demanded.

"Sam..." Ty tried again, more urgently because her chosen destination would soon pass them by if they didn't stop.

"Dean, just pull over." Sam urged.

With a frustrated sigh, Dean pulled off the road and into the nearby parking lot of a small bar. Ty immediately sprang out of the car and hurriedly walked up to the door, grasping the handle with both hands and yanking on the heavy wood that barred her entry. The door grudgingly swung open and allowed her into the dimly lit interior of the Cholla Tavern.

"Hey! Look what the cat dragged in!" the bartender and owner of the tavern greeted Ty as she walked in the door and made a beeline for the bar.

"Hey." Ty replied, noncommittally.

The pretty blonde behind the bar winced at Ty's tone, immediately reaching under the counter for some shot glasses, "Been that kind of night, huh?"

"You can say that again, Angie. Line 'em up." Ty nodded, sliding onto a stool.

Angie proceeded to set up a line of five shots in front of Ty, filling them with whiskey to the brim. Next to these she placed a tall glass of beer. Ty had just lifted the first shot to her lips when the door to the bar slammed back against the wall and Dean stormed in, followed closely by Sam. Ty glanced at the boys as they made their entrance, but then quickly turned back to her drink and slammed back the shot.

"What the hell are you doing?" Dean yelled, stomping over and ripping the now empty glass from Ty's hand. He transferred his angry gaze to the bartender, "She's not twenty-one!"

Angie raised both hands, "Yeah, she is. Carded her myself the first day she walked in here."

Dean paused for a second as that information sunk in, then set the shot glass back on the counter, grumbling to himself, "I let her drink once underage at some bar in Colorado and now she's a freaking regular hammering back shots!"

Ty rolled her eyes when she realized he was talking about the time at the One Eyed Jack when she'd been hustling some guys at poker and wanted a drink. Sam must have revealed her age to Dean at that point, thus explaining his reluctance to get her a real drink. Well, that wasn't an issue anymore. She'd turned twenty-one in the time Dean had been gone and was now a frequent fixture at the Cholla Tavern. So much so, in fact, that the contents of the jukebox were now pretty much organized in response to her moods. This was mostly due to the fact that she had almost instantly struck up a friendship with Angie, the owner. Something Ty was particularly grateful for at the moment as the barkeep moved over to the jukebox and started one of her "bad day" songs playing. Ty swiftly downed another shot, chased it with a gulp of beer and then took a third with her as she moved away from the bar over towards the slightly more spacious spot next to the jukebox. As Ty moved around Dean, holding her shot up high so that it wouldn't spill, he stopped her by grabbing her free arm.

"Look, I'm sorry about the hunt, okay?"

"Sorry, Dean. This is my song." she said smoothly, her voice devoid of any outward emotion as she twisted her arm out of his grip and continued on her way to the jukebox.

Dean just stared at her as Ty swayed to the music, downing her shot and dropping the empty glass on a nearby table. Her eyes were closed, as if to block out everyone else's existence. The Ty that Dean remembered meeting those months ago would never be acting like this. She had been shy and self-conscious in this type of scene, especially with him watching her, but it seemed that part of her had died along with her body in the demon's fire. To be honest, Dean was a little mystified by it all. What the heck was going on with her?

The low bass beat of the music caught Dean's attention. It was more heavy death metal than Dean normally listened to, but Dean recognized it as Rob Zombie's "Living Dead Girl." The realization of the song made Dean look even harder at Ty, his very own living dead girl. He knew something had to be done about her, intervention-style if need be, but at the moment he was still so aggravated by her that he felt more like finishing her line of shots than trying to talk to her. So, with a scowl marring his features, that's what he did.

"Dean?" Sam queried, moving onto the stool next to his brother.

Dean grunted in response, letting Sam know he was listening. Even while he was taking both of Ty's remaining shots, he still had one eye on the blonde, still silently dancing in the corner.

Sam wasn't fooled at all by Dean's actions. He knew his brother might look coldly unconcerned, sitting there finishing off Ty's drinks, but he knew that his brother was deeply bothered by the changes in the girl he had come to care about. Sam decided to test exactly how tuned into the situation his brother was.

"Why don't you just go talk to her? You know, comfort her. She's obviously upset, just like when she lost that little girl to those carnies."

Dean set down Ty's beer and looked at his brother incredulously, "Upset? You think she's upset? Dude! With the girl, she was all guilt. This," Dean gestured towards Ty, "this is just apathy. That spook's last shot was so close I saw her hair move and she barely even noticed."

Sam had to admit he was surprised. Not only was Dean pretty clued into what was going on with Ty, he knew what apathy meant. Sam transferred his gaze from Dean to the girl in question, contemplating her behavior himself. Sam hadn't really thought about it before, but now as he reflected, he wondered if maybe the demon hadn't pulled one last trick on them when he'd brought Ty back. What, Sam thought darkly, if she wasn't completely the Ty they'd known before that incident? He and Dean had gone on a hunt a couple months prior where someone had brought back a girl from the dead using some ancient Greek spell and had seen first hand the kinds of problems that went with things that were dead not staying dead. Still, Sam couldn't be sure if there was anything to this disturbing theory and he'd rather not upset his brother anymore than he already was, so he decided to keep those thoughts to himself and just keep an especially close eye on the blonde hunter.