April 10th - April 13th, 2006

Tears came to my eyes. "Daddy?"

Sam jolted awake and stared at me.

Dad chuckled slightly. "Hi, baby. Can you put your brother on the phone?"

I handed the phone to Sam and then sat on Dean's bed.

Sam answered quickly, "Dad?" (...) "Are you hurt?" (...) "We've been looking for you everywhere. We didn't know where you were... if you were okay." (...) "We're fine. Dad, where are you?"

Dean sat up quickly in his bed.

Sam was starting to get angry. "What? Why not?"

"Is that Dad?" Dean asked.

I nodded at him and then turned my attention back to Sam.

Sam shook his head. "You're after it, aren't you? The thing that killed Mom." (...) "A demon? You know for sure?"

"A demon? What's he saying?" Dean swung his legs over his bed.

Sam continued, "You know where it is?" (...) "Let us help." (...) "Why not?"

Dean reached his hand out. "Give me the phone."

"Names? What names, Dad... talk to me, tell me what's going on." (...) "No, all right? No way," Sam growled.

"Give me the phone," Dean said again, still holding his hand out.

I could hear Dad raising his voice, but couldn't make out what he was saying.

Dean grabbed the phone from Sam. "Dad, it's me. Where are you?" (...) "Yes, sir." (...) "Uh, yeah, I got a pen." He grabbed a pen and paper. "What are their names?"


Everything after the phone call was a blur, Dean took down the names Dad listed, we packed up and hit the road. Sam drove while Dean went through the names and did some research on them.

"All right, so, the names Dad gave us, they're all couples?" Sam asked.

Dean nodded. "Three different couples. All went missing."

"And they're all from different towns? Different states?" Sam asked.

"That's right. You got Washington, New York, Colorado. Each couple took a road trip cross-country. None of them arrived at their destination, and none of them were ever heard from again," Dean explained.

"Well, it's a big country, Dean. They could've disappeared anywhere." Sam scoffed.

Dean shrugged. "Yeah, could've. But each one's route took 'em to the same part of Indiana. Always on the second week of April. One year after another after another."

"This is the second week of April," Sam said.

"Yup." Dean nodded.

"So, Dad is sending us to Indiana to go hunting for something before another couple vanishes?" Sam asked.

Dean pointed to Sam. "Yahtzee... can you imagine putting together a pattern like this? All the different obits Dad had to go through? The man's a master."

Sam pulled over to the side of the road.

Dean looked up from his research. "What are you doing?"

Sam sighed. "We're not going to Indiana."

"We're not?" Dean asked, confused.

Sam shook his head. "No. We're going to California. Dad called from a payphone... Sacramento area code."

"Sam," Dean said.

"Dean, if this demon killed Mom and Jess, and Dad's closing in, we gotta be there. We've gotta help," Sam said.

Dean shook his head. "Dad doesn't want our help."

Sam shrugged. "I don't care."

"He's given us an order," Dean said.

"I don't care. We don't always have to do what he says," Sam stated, firmly.

"Sam. Dad, is asking us to work jobs, to save lives, it's important," Dean said.

Sam nodded. "All right, I understand, believe me, I understand. But I'm talking one week here, man, to get answers. To get revenge."

"All right, look, I know how you feel," Dean said sympathetically.

"Do you?" Sam snapped.

Dean looked shocked, and so was I.

"How old were you when Mom died? Four? Jess died six months ago. How the hell would you know how I feel?" Sam continued.

"Dad said it wasn't safe. For any of us. I mean, he obviously knows something that we don't, so if he says to stay away, we stay away," Dean said, now sounding annoyed.

"I don't understand the blind faith you have in the man. I mean, it's like you don't even question him," Sam snapped.

"Yeah, it's called being a good son!" Dean yelled.

Sam got out of the car and slammed the door, Dean got out too and walked around to the back. Sam had popped the trunk and was pulling things out of it.

"You're a selfish bastard. You know that? You just do whatever you want. Don't care what anybody thinks," Dean growled.

"That's what you really think?" Sam scoffed.

"Yes, it is," Dean responded.

"Well, then this selfish bastard is going to California," Sam said and slammed the trunk.

I turned around so I could watch out of the back window.

"Come on, you're not serious," Dean said, frustrated.

"I am serious," Sam said and started walking off with his backpack.

"It's the middle of the night! Hey, I'm taking off! I will leave your ass! You hear me?!" Dean yelled.

Sam turned around. "That's what I want you to do."

They just stared at each other for a minute.

"Goodbye, Sam," Dean said, got into the Impala, and started the engine.

"Wait!" I yelled and quickly got out of the car. "Sam!" I ran up to him, and he turned around. "So, what? You're just going to leave again?!" I glared at him.

Sam sighed. "Maddi... I have to."

"No, you don't. How long will it take for us to see you again this time? Another three years?" I asked angrily.

He walked forward and went to put his hand on my shoulder, but I pushed him away.

"Sam, you left when I was eight. I feel like I just got you back and now you're leaving again. Why can't you just suck it up and come along?" I asked.

"I'm gonna find Dad. I'm not just gonna follow his orders anymore. He's gonna need help whether he admits it or not," Sam said.

"Whatever, Sam. Do what you want. You always do anyway," I snapped and then walked back to the car.

"Maddison!" Sam yelled at me.

"See you in a couple years, Sam!" I yelled back, got into the front seat of the car, and slammed the door.

"You good?" Dean asked.

"Yup. Let's go," I said with my arms crossed, staring out of the window.


When we arrived in Burkittsville, Indiana, Dean pulled out his phone and scrolled down to Sam's number.

I put my hand on the phone and covered the screen. "What are you doing? You know he's either not gonna answer, or you're gonna argue with each other."

Dean sighed and closed the phone. "You ready?"

I nodded, and then we both got out of the car and walked up to a man sitting in a chair on the porch of Scotty's Café.

Dean pointed to the sign. "Let me guess." Then he pointed to the man. "Scotty."

"Yup." Scotty nodded.

"Hi, my name's John Bonham," Dean introduced himself.

"Isn't that the drummer for Led Zeppelin?" Scotty asked, stone-faced.

Dean chuckled. "Wow... good... classic rock fan."

No one usually catches onto the fake names.

"What can I do for you... John?" Scotty asked with questioning eyes.

Dean pulled two flyers out of his pocket. "I was wondering if, uh, you'd seen these people by chance."

Scotty took the flyers and looked at the pictures. "Nope. Who are they?"

"Friends of mine," Dean said, "They went missing about a year ago. They passed through somewhere around here, and I've already asked around Scottsburg and Salem—"

"Sorry." Scotty handed the flyers back to Dean. "We don't get many strangers around here." His expression never changed the whole time.

"Scotty, you've got a smile that lights up a room, anybody ever tell you that?" Dean joked.

Scotty gave Dean a strange look.

Dean chuckled awkwardly. "Never mind. See you around."

We walked down the street to the Jorgeson General Store. On the way in, we walked past the gas pumps out front. There was an older woman behind the counter, and a young blonde woman, and an older man stocking shelves.

The older man looked up. "Hello, you must be new in town. I'm Harley." He pointed to the woman behind the counter. "That is my wife, Stacy." Then he pointed to the young woman next to him. "And this is our niece, Emily. Welcome to our store."

"Hi, I'm John, and this is Stevie," Dean said.

I waved and smiled.

"We were actually wondering if you've seen these people. They're friends of mine," Dean said as he pulled out the flyers and handed them to Harley.

Harley shook his head and frowned.

"You sure they didn't stop for gas or something?" Dean asked.

Harley showed the flyers to Stacy, and she shook her head too.

"Nope, don't remember 'em. You said they were friends of yours?" Harley asked.

Dean nodded. "That's right."

Emily walked over. "Did the guy have a tattoo?"

"Yes, he did," Dean said.

Emily looked at the flyer. "You remember? They were just married."

Harley gasped as he remembered. "You're right. They did stop for gas. Weren't here more than ten minutes."

"You remember anything else?" Dean asked.

Harley shrugged. "I told 'em how to get back to the Interstate. They left town."

"Could you point me in that same direction?" Dean asked.

"Sure." Harley nodded.


After getting directions from Harley, we left to see if we could find any clues as to where the couple might've disappeared to. As we were driving past an orchard, something started buzzing in the back seat.

Dean looked back. "What the hell?" He reached back, trying to grab what it was out of his bag.

I slapped his arm away. "Let me get it." I unbuckled my seatbelt and turned around to go through the bag.

"What are you doing? Sit down and buckle up," he scolded.

"Oh yeah, because searching through a bag while driving is so much better for my safety," I responded sarcastically.

"Okay, okay. Sit down. I'm pulling over." Dean pulled over and grabbed the bag.

He pulled the EMF meter out, and it was lighting up and buzzing frantically. He backed up until we were parked in front of the orchard entrance.

We got out and walked through a wooded area, it was foggy and gave off a spooky vibe. As we were walking through, we came across a creepy scarecrow that almost looked like it was made of skin that had been sewn together. We stopped and stared up at it.

"Dude, you're fugly," Dean said to the scarecrow.

"You know he has a sickle in his hand. You might want to be careful about what you say to him," I joked.

Dean looked at the sickle and then noticed something else.

"What is it?" I asked.

Dean walked over to a ladder that was leaning up against a tree behind us. "I'm not sure." He walked over and placed the ladder in front of the scarecrow. He climbed up and moved the scarecrows sleeve away, and I could see something written on its arm.

"Is that a tattoo?" I asked, completely shocked.

Dean pulled out the flyer and compared the tattoo on the scarecrow to the man's tattoo in the picture. "Yeah, I think so." He stared into the scarecrow's eyes. "Nice tat." He stared at it, almost expecting it to move, and then he climbed down and put the ladder back. "All right, let's get outta here," he said, putting his hand on my back and lightly pushing me in the direction of the Impala.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked.

"Yeah, of course," Dean said.

"I know those people back at the general store were nice, but don't you feel like they were a little bit... too nice?" I asked.

Dean smirked. "Yeah, I thought that too."

"And don't you feel like it was weird how it only took Emily saying, 'remember, they were just married,' for Harley to say he remembered seeing that couple?" I asked. "Even though he had already been looking at their pictures for like five minutes and said, he didn't remember."

Dean chuckled. "Yup."

We walked out of the woods and over to the Impala.

"Oh, and also. That thing is totally made of human flesh, right?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, definitely." Dean nodded, and we both got into the car and drove away.


We parked in front of one of the gas pumps at the general store, Emily was standing outside, ready to fill tanks for people. Dean got out of the car and walked around to the back. I turned so I could see them talking.

"You're back," Emily said.

"Never left," Dean said.

"Still looking for your friends?" she asked.

Dean nodded. "You mind fillin' her up there, Emily?" he asked and leaned on the back of the car. "So, you grew up here?"

Emily started filling up the tank. "I came here when I was thirteen. I lost my parents. Car accident. My aunt and uncle took me in."

"They're nice people," Dean said.

"Everybody's nice here," Emily said.

"So, what, it's the, uh, perfect little town?" Dean questioned.

Emily laughed. "Well, ya know, it's the boonies. But I love it. I mean, the towns around us, people are losing their homes, their farms. But here, it's almost like we're blessed."

"Hey, you been out to the orchard? You see that scarecrow?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, it creeps me out." Emily shivered.

Dean laughed. "Whose is it?"

"I don't know. It's just always been there." Emily shrugged.

"That your aunt and uncle's?" Dean gestured to something.

I looked over to see what he was talking about and saw that there was a red SUV parked by the front door.

"Customers. Had some car troubles," Emily said.

"It's not a couple, is it? A guy and a girl?" Dean asked.

"Mm-hmm." Emily nodded, and she finished filling the tank.

"Do you happen to know where they went?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, Scotty's," Emily said.

"Thank you." Dean paid her and then got back into the Impala.

We drove over to Scotty's, walked in, and saw a couple sitting at a table eating apple pie.

Dean waved. "Oh, hey, Scotty. Can I get a coffee, black?"

Scotty walked behind the counter.

"Oh, and some of that pie, too, while you're at it." Dean turned his attention to me. "Do you want anything?"

I nodded. "Pie too, please."

Dean smirked. "Make that two pies."

Then we sat at a table next to the couple.

"How ya doin'?" Dean asked.

The couple waved and smiled.

"Just passing through?" Dean asked.

The girl smiled. "Road trip."

"Hmm. Yeah, us too." Dean nodded.

Scotty came over and refilled their drinks, but he didn't bring us our food. "I'm sure these people want to eat in peace."

Dean smiled. "Just a little friendly conversation." As Scotty walked away, Dean added, "Oh, and that coffee, too, man. Thanks."

Scotty gave Dean an agitated look.

"So, what brings you to town?" Dean asked the couple.

The girl smiled. "We just stopped for gas. And, uh, the guy at the gas station saved our lives."

"Is that right?" Dean asked.

The guy smiled. "Yeah, one of our brake lines was leaking. We had no idea. He's fixing it for us."

"Nice people," Dean said.

The guy nodded. "Yeah."

"So, how long 'til you're up and runnin'?" Dean asked.

"Sundown." The guy smiled.

"Really." Dean thought for a second. "To fix a brake line?"

The guy nodded.

"I mean, you know, I know a thing or two about cars. I could probably have you up and running in about an hour. I wouldn't charge you anything," Dean said.

The girl smiled awkwardly. "Ya know, thanks a lot, but I think we'd rather have a mechanic do it."

"Sure. I know." Dean paused and leaned forward. "Ya know, it's just that these roads. They're not real safe at night."

The couple exchanged a strange look.

"I'm sorry?" the girl asked.

"I know it sounds strange, but, uh... you might be in danger," Dean tried to convince them.

The guy looked annoyed. "Look, we're trying to eat. Okay?"

"Yeah." Dean looked disappointed and sat back. "Ya know, our brother could give you this puppy dog look, and you'd just buy right into it." He turned to me. "Think you could give them the puppy dog eyes?"

I gave Dean a strange look. "I'm eleven. Why would they listen to me?"

He looked down and sighed. Then the bell above the door jingled.

"Thanks for coming, Sheriff," Scotty said.

Dean looked nervous and frustrated. Scotty walked over and whispered something in the sheriff's ear, and they both looked at Dean, who looked away.

The sheriff walked over to us. "I'd like a word, please."

Dean sighed. "Come on. I'm having a bad day already."

The sheriff leaned over. "You don't want to make it worse."

I stood up. "We're going." I gave the sheriff a dirty look and walked to the door.

Dean got up and followed after me. We got in the car, and Dean started the engine.

"You all right?" Dean asked.

"I don't like the people in this town," I said.

He laughed.

"I'm serious. The only normal one here is Emily, but she seems caught up in the delusion of the 'perfect' town," I said, "This town gives me the creeps."

Dean nodded in agreement and pulled away. A few minutes later, he started looking into his rear-view mirror.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"The sheriff's following us," Dean said.

Finally, we reached the You Are Now Leaving Burkittsville sign, and the sheriff pulled a U-turn and drove back into the town.

"Can we agree that whatever's happening in that town, everyone in there knows about it?" I asked.

Dean nodded. "Yeah, I would say so."

"What do we do now?" I asked.

"Wait until dark," Dean said and kept driving.


On our way back, we knew that we were going straight to that orchard because it was our best shot at finding that couple before something terrible happened to them. Dean parked outside of the entrance.

"I'm going in alone. Lock the doors," Dean said.

I groaned. "But—"

Dean put his hand up. "No arguing." Then he got out and ran into the woods with a shotgun.

I watched and waited, and a few minutes later, Dean and the couple from earlier came running out of the woods and stood next to the car, breathing heavily.

"What— What the hell was that?" The guy panted.

"Don't ask," Dean said.

He got into the car, and the couple got into the back.


We drove to the motel, and the couple called someone to come get them in the morning and then rented a room for the night. We walked into our motel room and got ready for bed.

"What happened?" I asked.

"The scarecrow was up and running around," Dean said as he positioned his pillows and then climbed into bed.

I got comfy in my bed. "What do you think it is?"

"I'm thinking something Pagan," Dean said.

"That makes sense. I think the town must be in on it. They were too friendly, and then they wanted us out when we started asking questions," I said.

"I had the same thoughts." Dean yawned. "All right, kiddo, we will deal with it in the morning. Goodnight." Then he turned his lamp off.

"Goodnight... " I rolled over and closed my eyes. "Oh, and Dean?"

"Yeah?" he answered.

"You have to work on talking to people. You made it sound like you're the reason the roads are dangerous at night." I giggled.

He laughed. "Yeah, I didn't think about that."


In the morning, we packed up our stuff and hit the road to a local community college. Dean had made an appointment with a professor there to see if he could give us a clue about what we were dealing with. Dean called Sam on the drive over, and he actually answered. Dean explained what had happened with the couple and how the town was acting weird.

"Yeah, I'm tellin' ya. Burkittsville, Indiana. Fun Town." (...) "No. We can cope without you, you know." (...) "No, it's more than a spirit. It's a God. A Pagan God, anyway." (...) "The annual cycle of its killings. And the fact that the victims are always a man and a woman. Like some kind of fertility right. And you should see the locals. The way they treated this couple." Dean shook his head. "Fattenin' 'em up like a Christmas turkey." (...) "Yeah, I'm thinking a ritual sacrifice to appease some Pagan God." (...) "And the scarecrow takes its sacrifice. And for another year, the crops won't wilt, and disease won't spread." (...) "No, not yet." (...) "I know. I'm actually on my way to a local community college. I've got an appointment with a professor. You know, since I don't have my trusty sidekick geek boy to do all the research." (...) "I'm not hinting anything. Actually, uh... I want you to know... I mean, don't think—" (...) "Sam. You were right. You gotta do your own thing. You gotta live your own life." (...) "You've always known what you want. And you go after it. You stand up to Dad. And you always have. Hell, I wish I—" He sighed. "Anyway... I admire that about you. I'm proud of you, Sammy." (...) "Say you'll take care of yourself." (...) He looked over at me. "Do you wanna talk to Sam?"

"Nope," I said.

Dean furrowed his brow. "Uh, well, that was a no, sorry, Sammy." (...) "Call me when you find Dad." (...) Then he hung up and looked over at me. "You know, you have to forgive him at some point, for everything."

"Don't know what you're talking about," I said quickly.

"He's family," Dean said.

"Yeah, exactly." I scoffed.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

I looked over at him. "Dean, you're the only family member I have that has never left me behind. I think I'm allowed to be mad at him for a little longer."

Dean looked at me sadly. "Maddison, I—"

"I don't really want to talk about it, so do we have to?" I asked, with sad eyes.

He shook his head. "No, we don't have to... but I do want you to know one thing. No matter what happens, I will never leave you behind."

"Promise?" I smiled weakly.

Dean nodded. "I promise."


Dean pulled into the parking lot of the Community College and got out, and then peered in at me.

"You coming?" he asked.

"I can?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah, why not." He shrugged. "You've been my partner for this long."

I smiled and walked up to the building entrance with him, Dean held the door open for me, and we walked in together. He led us to the professor's office, and he knocked on the door.

An older man answered the door. "Yes?"

Dean smiled. "Hi, I'm Dean. I made an appointment with you this morning."

"Ah, yes. Come in." The professor waved us into his office.

He sat behind his desk, and we sat down in the chairs across from him.

"It's not every day I get a research question on Pagan ideology," the professor said.

"Yeah, well, call it a hobby." Dean laughed.

"But you said you were interested in local lore?" the professor asked.

Dean nodded. "Mm-hmm."

The professor sighed. "I'm afraid Indiana isn't really known for its Pagan worship."

"Well, what if it was imported? Ya know, like the pilgrims brought their religion over. Wasn't a lot of this area settled by immigrants?" Dean asked.

The professor nodded. "Well, yeah."

"Like that town near here, Burkittsville. Where are their ancestors from?" Dean asked.

The professor thought for a moment. "Uh, northern Europe, I believe, Scandinavia."

"What could you tell me about those Pagan Gods?" Dean asked.

"Well, there are hundreds of Norse Gods and Goddesses," the professor explained.

"I'm actually looking for one. Might live in an orchard," Dean said.

The professor got up and went to his bookshelf, he pulled a large leather book off the shelf and flipped it open on his desk.

"Woods God, hmm? Well, let's see." The professor leafed through some pages, and Dean stood up to look closer.

"Wait, wait, wait. What's that one?" Dean asked, pointing to a drawing of a scarecrow.

"Oh, that's not a woods God, per se," the professor said.

"The Va— Vanir?" Dean read and looked up at the professor to see if he was pronouncing it right. The professor nodded, and he continued reading, "'The Vanir were Norse Gods of protection and prosperity, keeping the local settlements safe from harm. Some villages built effigies of the Vanir in their fields. Other villages practiced human sacrifice. One male, and one female.'" He pointed to the picture. "Kind of looks like a scarecrow, huh?"

The professor nodded and smiled. "I suppose."

Dean continued reading, "'This particular Vanir, it's energy sprung from a sacred tree?'"

"Well, Pagans believed all sorts of things were infused with magic," the professor explained.

"So, what would happen if the sacred tree was torched? You think it'd kill the God?" Dean asked.

The professor laughed. "Son, these are just legends we're discussing."

Dean smiled awkwardly. "Oh, of course. Yeah, you're right. Listen, thank you very much." He shook the professor's hand.

The professor smiled. "Glad I could help."

I got up, and Dean opened the door to the office and went to walk out when he was hit in the face with the end of a rifle, causing him to fall to the ground, knocked out.

I gasped and jumped back. The sheriff was standing in the doorway, smiling in at the professor who was smiling eerily back.

"Ugh, how are you everywhere?" I groaned.

The sheriff stepped forward, causing me to step back into the grasp of the professor. I flung my head back and hit him in the chin, causing him to loosen his grip. I was able to slip away, but when I turned to run out, the sheriff shoved me to the ground. He came over to me with his handcuffs dangling from his hand. Once he got close enough, I kicked him as hard as I could in the side of his knee, causing him to crumple over in pain.

I ran to Dean. "Dean! Dean! Wake up, please!" I shook him, but he wasn't moving.

I looked up, and the sheriff and the professor were collecting themselves, so I grabbed the keys to the Impala out of Dean's pocket and then ran for it.

"She's just a little girl, how could you let this happen?!" one of them yelled.

I ran out of the building to the car. I jumped into the driver's seat.

Oh, god, if Dad and Dean knew what I was doing, they would kill me, but under the circumstances, it was understandable.

I moved the seat forward as far as I could and adjusted the mirrors. I could barely touch the pedals, but I had seen my brothers and Dad drive the car a million times, so how hard could it be. I saw the professor and the sheriff running out of the building, and I started the car and drove away as quickly as I could without crashing into anything.

I can't say it was the most graceful driving, but it worked. I drove down the road for a while until I saw a place I could pull into and still be covered by trees and brush.

A few minutes later, the sheriff's car came flying by, but he didn't see me. I searched the glove compartment for a phone and dialed Sam's number.

Sam's voice came through the phone, "Hey, how'd the meeting go?"

"Sam! Sam, I need your help! I don't know where you are, but I need you, please!" I yelled. "I'm so sorry about what I said the—"

"Whoa, whoa. Maddi, slow down, what's going on? Where's Dean?" Sam asked, panic in his voice.

"Dean's gone! They took him. They tried to get me too, but I got away. Sam, I need you. Please." I started to get choked up.

"Okay, it's okay. I'm coming, just stay hidden," he said calmly.

"I will be at the motel room we got. It's the only one just outside of town," I explained.

"Wait, how are you getting there?" he asked. "I don't think you should be wandering around alone on foot."

"I have the Impala. See you soon, room twelve. Okay, love you, bye!" I said quickly.

"What?!" Sam yelled. "Ma—"

I hung up the phone and drove the Impala as cautiously as I could, all the way to the motel. When I got there, I went around to the back of the car and grabbed a shotgun. I ran into the room, locked the door, and then sat in the corner of the room with my gun pointing at the door.


It was dark out now, and there was a knock on my door. I took a deep breath, walked to the door with the shotgun raised, and peered out of the window. It was Sam, so I lowered the gun down to my side, unlocked the door and let him in.

"What are you doing with that?" Sam asked, grabbing the shotgun out of my hands.

"I didn't know if they were going to come for me. I wanted to be prepared," I said.

"Well, not that I want you to be using guns, but you should've grabbed something smaller." Sam shook the shotgun slightly and held it up. "The recoil on this thing alone would put you on the ground."

I shrugged and hugged him quickly. "I'm happy to see you too, but we have to go save Dean." Then I ran out to the Impala.

I jumped in the passenger seat, Sam got in, and he smashed his knees into the steering wheel.

"Oh, god. You really did drive this thing," he said and moved the seat back. "Keys?" He put his hand out to me.

"Oh yeah." I pulled them out of my pocket and dropped them into his hand, and we took off.


We pulled up next to the orchard, and Sam ran out, so, of course, I followed.

"Maddison, go back to the car!" Sam whisper-shouted.

"Too late. I'm already out here," I said and continued to follow.

Sam sighed and shook his head, but just kept walking until we came across Emily and Dean tied to trees.

"Dean?" Sam whispered.

Dean was overjoyed. "Oh! Oh, I take everything back I said. I'm so happy to see you. Have you seen Maddison?"

I stepped forward and waved.

"Oh, thank god. I was so worried..." Dean said and then shook his hands. "Now come on. We've gotta get going."

Sam started to untie Dean, and I began untying Emily.

"How'd you get here?" Dean asked.

"I, uh... I stole a car," Sam said.

"Haha! That's my boy! And keep an eye on that scarecrow. He could come alive any minute," Dean said.

"What scarecrow?" Sam asked.

We all looked at the empty post and started to make a run for the car.

"We are going to have to find the sacred tree the God is attached to," Dean said as we ran.

Sam nodded. "All right, now, this sacred tree you're talking about—"

"It's the source of its power," Dean explained.

"So, let's find it and burn it," Sam said.

"Nah, in the morning. Let's just shag ass before Leather Face catches up," Dean said.

We reached a clearing and were met by Emily's aunt and uncle and a few other townspeople pointing guns at us.

Dean put himself in front of me and then pushed us all in another direction. "This way." But when we turned, there were people everywhere with guns.

Sam and Dean both tried to block me from the guns as best as they could. Then a growl echoed through the woods.

"Please. Let us go." Emily cried.

"It'll be over quickly, I promise," Harley said.

"Please," Emily whimpered.

Harley looked at her sadly. "Emily, you have to let him take you. You have to—"

Suddenly, the scarecrow stuck his sickle through Harley's stomach. Stacy screamed, Emily buried her face in Dean's chest, and then the scarecrow grabbed Stacy too. The scarecrow stuck his sickle in Harley's ankle and then dragged him and Stacy into the fog. Everyone around us started running and screaming.

"Come on, let's go," Dean said.

Sam grabbed my hand, and we all started running in the direction of the Impala. Once we reached the car, we could hear screams and growls in the woods, but the scarecrow was nowhere to be seen.

"How's the Impala here?" Dean asked.

"We'll talk about it later," Sam said.


Back at the motel, Emily decided to take a long shower, and Sam thought it was a good idea to inform Dean that I had driven the Impala.

"So, tell me again...?" Dean asked.

"Ugh, Dean, I already told you like five times." I groaned.

"I just need to hear it again," he said.

"I took the keys from your pocket and drove the Impala back to the motel." I rolled my eyes. "Don't you want to hear about the rest of the story?"

"All right, all right, what happened after they knocked me out?" Dean asked.

"Well, the professor tried to grab me, but I kinda head-butted him and slipped away," I said, "Then the sheriff shoved me to the ground, and I kicked him in the side of his knee, and he dropped. And then—"

"Wait, wait, wait. You did that to those guys? I saw the bruised jaw and the limp. You must've got 'em pretty good." Dean laughed.

"Well, I learned from the best." I smirked. "But anyway... I tried to wake you up, but you weren't moving, so I thought running would be the best thing for both of us. I grabbed the keys from your pocket, drove the Impala, called Sam, and then hid in the motel room until he got here."

"Yeah, she hid with a shotgun," Sam added.

"Oh, no. You should've grabbed a pistol. The recoil on a shotgun will knock you on the ground," Dean said.

"I was already lectured about what firearms I should be using, but thank you." I rolled my eyes.

Emily came out of the bathroom wearing a shirt and shorts that Sam gave her to wear to bed, she didn't say anything to us and just covered herself up on the couch. We all decided it would be better if we didn't say anything to her yet and just went to bed. Since Emily was sleeping in my usual spot, I shared the bed with Sam. Dean shut off the lights, and we all went to sleep.


In the morning, we went back to the orchard to burn the sacred tree to the ground, the four of us searched around for a while until we found a tree that was covered in strange markings. Sam walked forward with a can of gasoline and poured it on the tree. Dean picked up a long branch and lit it with his lighter.

"Let me," Emily said and took the branch from Dean.

"You know, the whole town's gonna die," Dean said.

"Good." Emily threw the branch onto the tree, and we all watched it go up in flames.

We watched the tree burn for a while, and when we felt like it was safe, we walked back to the Impala.

The four of us drove to the closest bus stop, and when we got there, Emily bought the earliest ticket to Boston. She got on the bus, and we all waved goodbye, Emily smiled back weakly and then walked to her seat.

"Think she's gonna be all right?" Sam asked.

"I hope so." Dean nodded.

"And the rest of the townspeople, they'll just get away with it?" Sam asked.

"Well, what'll happen to the town will have to be punishment enough," Dean said, and we started walking to the car. "So, can I drop you off somewhere?"

"No, I think you're stuck with me," Sam said.

"What made you change your mind?" Dean asked.

"I didn't. I still wanna find Dad. And you're still a pain in the ass," Sam joked.

Dean smirked and nodded.

Sam continued, "But, Jess and Mom... they're both gone. Dad is god knows where. The three of us... we're all that's left. So, if we're gonna see this through, we're gonna do it together."

Dean paused for a moment. "Hold me, Sam. That was beautiful." He put his hand on Sam's shoulder, but Sam pushed it away, and they both laughed.

"You should be kissing my ass. You were dead meat, dude." Sam smirked.

"Yeah, right. I had a plan. I'd have gotten out," Dean said and got into the car.

"Right," Sam said.

Sam opened his door to get in, but I quickly hugged him before he did. He hugged me in return and rubbed my back.

"Thank you for coming back," I said.

"Of course." Sam knelt so he could look me in the eyes. "I'll always be there for you, no matter where I am."

I hugged him again, and then he stood up, and we both got into the car.

Dean looked at me in the rear-view mirror. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" I asked, confused.

"I wasn't there to protect you," Dean said.

"Dean stop, there was nothing you could do, and besides, you're the one with a black eye. I don't even have a scratch on me," I said.

He gave me a frown, still disappointed in himself, but turned the car on and started driving away from the bus station.

"Oh yeah, one more thing," Dean said.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"You aren't driving Baby again until you are at least sixteen, and I teach you how to drive," Dean said.

"Ugh, you're so annoying." I smirked.

"Annoying? It's safety," Dean said.

"Safety for me? Or Baby?" I asked.

Dean chuckled awkwardly. "You, obviously."

"Mm-hmm." I laughed.