June 18th - June 20th, 2006

We were on our way to Wisconsin because Dad had texted Dean coordinates, which meant there was something to hunt. Sam had been researching the area and was struggling to find the reason why Dad would send us there.

"Dude, I ran LexisNexis, local police reports, newspapers, I couldn't find a single red flag. Are you sure you got the coordinates, right?" Sam asked.

Dean nodded. "Yeah, I double-checked. It's Fitchburg, Wisconsin. Dad wouldn't have sent us coordinates if it wasn't important, Sammy."

"Well, I'm telling you... I looked, and all I could find was a big steamy pile of nothing. If Dad's sending us hunting for something, I don't know what," Sam said, frustrated.

"Well, maybe he's going to meet us there," Dean suggested.

"Yeah." Sam scoffed. "'Cause he's been so easy to find up to this point."

"You're a real smart ass, ya know that?" Dean sighed. "Don't worry, I'm sure there's something in Fitchburg worth killing."

"Yeah? What makes you so sure?" Sam asked.

"'Cause I'm the oldest, which means I'm always right," Dean said.

Sam shook his head. "No, it doesn't."

"Yeah, I'm going to have to agree with Sam on that one," I spoke up.

Dean looked at me in the rear-view mirror. "It totally does." He smirked.

About an hour or so later, we drove past a sign that read, Fitchburg: Population 20,501.


We pulled up in front of a diner, Dean went in to get us some drinks while Sam and I waited outside. Sam was pretty quiet, and I didn't want to step on his toes because I knew he was annoyed about following the coordinates in the first place. I sat in the Impala with my window down, and Sam leaned against his door, facing a playground.

Dean walked around the car and handed me my tea and Sam his coffee. "Well... the waitress thinks the local freemasons are up to something sneaky, but other than that, no one's heard about anything freaky going on."

"Dean, you got the time?" Sam asked.

Dean looked down at his watch. "Ten after Four. Why?"

Sam nodded toward the playground. "What's wrong with this picture?"

I looked at the playground and realized there was only one kid.

"School's out, isn't it?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. So, where is everybody?" Sam asked. "This place should be crawling with kids right now."

Dean and I walked up to a woman sitting on a bench while Sam waited back by the Impala.

"Sure, is quiet out here," Dean said.

"Yeah, it's a shame," the woman said sadly, watching who I assumed was her daughter on the playground.

"Why's that?" Dean asked.

"You know, kids getting sick, it's a terrible thing." She sighed.

"How many?" Dean asked.

"Just five or six, but serious... hospital serious. A lot of parents are getting pretty anxious. They think it's catching." She smiled at me softly and then looked back up at Dean. "Just be careful, okay?"

Dean put his hand on my shoulder. "Have a nice night." Then we walked back to the Impala.


We pulled up in front of Dane County Memorial Hospital, Sam and Dean had changed into suits, they were going to be impersonating the CDC.

Dean leaned forward, pulled out IDs, and handed one to Sam.

Sam looked down at the ID and read it over. "Dude. Dude, I am not using this ID."

"Why not?" Dean asked.

"'Cause it says bikini inspector on it!" Sam yelled in disbelief.

Dean grinned. "Don't worry, they won't look that close, all right? Hell, they won't even ask to see it. It's all about confidence Sammy." With that, he got out of the Impala and started walking toward the hospital.

Sam groaned and followed after.

I decided to read Dad's journal while I waited. The boys came back shortly after, with some information about what was going on in the town. They told me that Dr. Hydecker, the pediatric doctor, told them that six cases had come in over five weeks. At first, the doctor thought it was pneumonia, but none of the kids were responding to antibiotics, and they only seemed to be getting worse.

After they informed me of everything they could, we drove off to the house of a young girl named Bethany. She was the most recent kid in town to get sick, and Sam suspected that neither of her parents would be at the house anytime soon.


We pulled up in front of Bethany's house and snuck in through the back window. We searched the house until we found a door with Bethany on it and walked in. We looked around the room for a bit to see if we could find anything, but there really wasn't anything strange about the room.

"You got anything over there?" Sam asked.

Dean shook his head. "Nah, nothing."

"Yeah, me neither." Sam sighed.

I walked over to the window and realized there were weird markings on the outside of the windowsill. "Uh, guys?"

"Yeah?" Dean asked, and they both walked over.

Sam unlocked the window and pushed it open, on the windowsill was an elongated handprint that looked like it had caused the wood to rot.

"Huh." Sam scoffed. "You were right. It's not pneumonia."

Dean just stared at the handprint.

"It's rotted," I said.

"What the hell leaves a handprint like that?" Sam asked.

Dean kept staring at the handprint.

"I know why Dad sent us here. He's faced this thing before. He wants us to finish the job," Dean said, "Let's go." Then he walked out of the room without another word.

Sam and I gave each other a look and then followed Dean out to the Impala.


The car ride to the motel was tense, and I wasn't sure why. Dean hadn't really said much since we left other than to say whatever we were dealing with was called a shtriga. Sam couldn't get much more out of Dean. So, he tried to find it in Dad's journal, but I had read it twice and couldn't remember reading anything about a shtriga.

Once we pulled into the motel parking lot, we all got out.

"So, what the hell is a shtriga?" Sam asked.

Dean sighed. "It's... kinda like a witch, I think. I don't know much about 'em."

"Well, I've never heard of it. And it's not in Dad's journal," Sam said.

"Dad hunted one in Fort Douglas, Wisconsin, about sixteen— seventeen years ago. You were there. You don't remember?" Dean asked.

Sam shook his head. "No."

"And I guess he caught wind that the things in Fitchburg now and kicked us the coordinates," Dean said.

"So, wait, this... sht—" Sam stuttered.

"Shtriga," Dean said.

"Right. You think it's the same one Dad hunted before?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged. "Yeah, maybe."

We walked around the car toward the office.

"But if Dad went after it, why is it still breathing air?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged. "'Cause it got away."

"Got away?" Sam asked.

I was confused about that too.

"Yeah, Sammy, it happens," Dean said, frustrated.

"Not very often." Sam shook his head.

"Well I don't know what to tell ya, maybe Dad didn't have his Wheaties that morning," Dean said, sarcastically.

"What else do you remember?" Sam asked.

Dean started getting defensive. "Nothin'. I was a kid, all right?"

I followed Dean into the office while Sam waited by the car. When we walked, in Dean rang the bell on the desk.

A boy about my age came out from the back room where a younger boy was sitting, watching TV.

"A king or two queens?" he asked.

Dean glanced back at Sam. "Two queens."

The boy followed Dean's gaze and snickered under his breath. "Yeah, I'll bet."

"What'd you say?" Dean asked.

The boy smirked. "Nice car!"

A woman entered. "Hi."

"Hi," Dean said.

"Checking in?" she asked.

"Yeah." Dean nodded.

The woman turned to the boy. "Uh, do me a favor, go get your brother some dinner."

"I'm helping a guest," the boy said, frustrated.

She gave him a look, and he rolled his eyes.

Before he left, he raised an eyebrow at Dean. "Two queens." Emphasizing 'queens.'

Dean faked a laugh. "Funny kid."

"Oh, yeah. He thinks so." The woman looked at me and smiled. "You never give your dad here a hard time, do you?" She nodded at Dean and smirked.

I laughed. "Well yeah, I do, but actually he's my brother."

"Yeah, but I've helped raise her since she was a baby." Dean nodded and smiled proudly.

The woman gave me a soft, sympathetic smile, then looked at Dean. "Will that be cash or credit?"

"You take MasterCard?" Dean asked.

She nodded.

"Perfect. Here you go." Dean handed her the card.

The woman swiped it and then tried to hand it back to Dean, who seemed to be in his own world. She looked at him, confused. "Sir?" She held the card out to him.

I nudged his arm.

Dean snapped out of it and took the card. "Thanks." He signed the receipt.

The woman handed us our room key, and we walked out.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Of course." Dean smiled. "Why?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, you just— it just seems like something is bothering you."

"No, I'm fine, honestly," Dean said.

I knew he was lying, but he never wanted anyone to know when he was upset, so I let it go.

After gathering everything we needed, we walked into our room and got settled in for the night.


Sam had been sitting on his computer, while Dean and I watched wrestling.

"Well, you were right. It wasn't very easy to find, but you were right. Shtriga is a kind of witch. They're Albanian, but legends about them trace back to Ancient Rome. They feed off spiritus vitae," Sam said.

"Spiri-what?" Dean asked.

"Vitae. It's Latin, translates to 'breath of life.' Kinda like your life force or essence," Sam explained.

"Didn't the doctor say the kids' bodies were wearing out?" Dean asked.

"It's a thought. Ya know, she takes your vitality, maybe your immunity goes to hell, pneumonia takes hold." Sam shrugged. "Anyway, shtrigas can feed off anyone, but they prefer—"

"Children." Dean nodded.

"Yeah. Probably because they have a stronger life force. And get this. shtrigas are... 'invulnerable to all weapons devised by God and man,'" Sam read.

Dean shook his head. "No, that's not right. She's vulnerable when she feeds."

"What?" Sam asked.

"If you catch her when she's eating, you can blast her with consecrated wrought iron... uh... buck shots or rounds, I think," Dean said.

"How do you know that?" Sam asked.

"Dad told me. I remember," Dean answered bluntly.

"Oh. Huh." Sam shook his head. "So uh, anything else Dad might have mentioned?"

"Nope, that's it," Dean said.

Sam kept staring at Dean.

"What?" Dean asked.

"Nothing..." Sam shrugged. "Okay. So, assuming we can kill it when it eats, we still gotta find the thing first, which ain't gonna be a cakewalk. Shtrigas take on a human disguise when they're not hunting."

"What kinda human disguise?" Dean asked.

"Historically, something innocuous. Could be anything, but it's usually a feeble old woman, which might be how the witches as old crones legend got started," Sam said.

Dean got up and grabbed a map off of the table. "Hang on."

"What?" Sam asked.

"Check this out. I marked down all the addresses of the victims. Now, these are the houses that have been hit so far and..." Dean pointed to the map. "Dead center?"

Sam nodded. "The hospital."

"The hospital. Now when we were there, I saw a patient, an old woman," Dean explained.

"An old person, huh?" Sam asked.

Dean nodded. "Yeah."

"In a hospital? Whew." Sam shook his head. "Better call the Coast Guard."

Dean gave Sam a dirty look. "Well, listen, smart-ass, she had an inverted cross hanging on her wall."

Sam gave Dean a serious look. "All right, let's take a look."

"I'm going," I announced.

Dean grabbed my jacket. "Yup, I want you close."


We snuck through the hospital, knowing it was way too late for visiting hours, and tried to stay out of sight. We reached the end of one of the hallways when Sam and Dean quickly turned around and stopped moving.

"Good night Dr. Hydecker," a woman said.

"See you tomorrow Betty," the doctor replied and then walked past us.

I couldn't really see him as I was hidden behind my brothers.

"Try to get some sleep," the woman called, and then her footsteps disappeared down the hallway.

Dean looked down the hall and then whispered, "Come on."

We continued following Dean through the hallways until we came across the room he was searching for.

"Stay behind Sammy," Dean instructed and then led us into the room with his gun ready.

He walked around in front of the old woman. She was just staring out of the window in her wheelchair. He leaned down in front of her, looking right at her face.

"Who the hell are you?!" the woman yelled in Dean's face.

Dean jumped back, slamming into a cabinet, and pulled his gun up.

"Who's there? You trying to steal my stuff?" she mumbled under her breath, "They're always stealing around here."

Sam turned on the lights and walked around in front of the woman, I followed. "No! Ah, ma'am, we're maintenance. We're sorry. We thought you were sleeping."

The woman looked up but in no particular direction. "Ah, nonsense. I was sleeping with my peepers open." She laughed.

I could see that her eyes were completely milky white.

She hastily pointed in the direction of the cross. "And fix that crucifix, would ya? I've asked four damn times already!"

Dean still looked freaked out, but he lightly tapped the crucifix causing it to flip right side up.


By the time we arrived back at the motel, the sun was just coming up, Dean parked in front of our room, and we got out.

"I was sleeping with my peepers open?" Sam laughed.

"I almost smoked that old girl, I swear. It's not funny," Dean said.

"Oh man, you shoulda seen your face," Sam said.

"Yeah, laugh it off." Dean shrugged. "Now we're back to square one."

Sam started unlocking our door.

"Hang on," Dean said, looking over at the boy from the front desk, he was sitting on a bench looking down sadly. He started walking over to the boy.

Sam and I followed.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Dean asked, crouching down next to the boy.

"My brother's sick." The boy looked up sadly.

"The little guy?" Dean asked.

The boy nodded. "Pneumonia. He's in the hospital. It's my fault."

"Ah c'mon, how?" Dean asked.

The boy looked down, with tears in his eyes. "I shoulda made sure the window was latched. He wouldn't've got pneumonia if the window was latched."

Dean looked away for a moment, thinking, and then turned back to the boy. "Listen to me. I can promise you that this is not your fault. Okay?"

"It's my job to look after him," the boy said.

The muscles in Dean's jaw tightened, and he just nodded.

The boy's mom rushed out of the office, carrying a teddy bear, pillow, and a blanket. "Michael, I want you to turn on the no vacancy sign while I'm gone. I've got Denise covering room service, so don't bother with any of the rooms," she instructed as she loaded her van.

Michael stood up and walked over to his mom. "I'm going with you."

His mom shook her head. "Not now, Michael."

"But, I gotta see Asher!" Michael protested.

"Hey, Michael. Hey. I know how you feel..." Dean spoke up, "I'm a big brother too... but you gotta go easy on your mom right now, okay?"

Michael's mom hastily swung around and dropped her purse on the ground. "Damn it!"

Sam quickly ran over and grabbed it for her. "I got it."

"Thank you," she said, taking the purse.

"Listen, you're in no condition to drive... why don't you let me give you a lift to the hospital." Dean offered.

She shook her head. "No, I couldn't possibly..."

"No, it's no trouble. I insist," Dean said and took her keys.

"Thanks." She turned to Michael. "Be good." Then she opened her door and got in.

Dean walked over and shut her door when she settled in. Then he turned to Sam and whispered, "We're gonna kill this thing. I want it dead, you hear me?"

Dean walked around and got into the car, then they pulled away.

Michael angrily stormed into the office and slammed the door.

Sam put his hand on my shoulder. "Come on, I wanna go to the library."


We had been researching at the library for about an hour when Sam got a call.

"Hey. How's the kid?" he asked. (...) "We're at the library. We've been trying to find out as much as we can about this shtriga." (...) "Well, bad news. I started with Fort Douglas around the time you said Dad was there?" (...) "Same deal. Before that, there was, uh, Ogdenville, before that North Haverbrook, and Brockway. Every fifteen to twenty years, it hits a new town. Dean, this thing is just getting started in Fitchburg. In all these other places, it goes on for months. Dozens of kids, before the shtriga finally moves on. The kids just... languish in comas, and then they die." (...) "Uh, I don't know. The earliest mention I could find is this place called 'Black River Falls' back in the 1890s. Talk about a horror show..."

Sam squinted at his computer screen. "Whoa." (...) "Hold on... I'm looking at a photograph right now of a bunch of doctors standing around a kid's bed. One of the Doctors is Hydecker." (...) "And this picture was taken in 1893." (...) "Yeah. Yeah, absolutely." (...) Then he hung up.

I leaned forward and looked at the picture on the screen. "So, that guy is the pediatric doctor at the hospital now?"

Sam nodded. "Yup."

"Wow, that's just so wrong." I shook my head.


Sam and I packed up and left for the motel, where Dean met us shortly after.

"We should have thought of this before. A doctor's a perfect disguise. You're trusted, you can control the whole thing." Sam shook his head in disgust.

"That son of a bitch." Dean threw his jacket off and started pacing.

"I'm surprised you didn't draw on him right there," Sam said.

"Yeah, well... first of all, I'm not going to open fire in a friggin' pediatrics ward." Dean put his hands up.

Sam nodded. "Good call."

"Second, wouldn't have done any good, because the bastard's bulletproof unless he's chowing down on something," Dean said, "And third, I wasn't packing, which is probably a really good thing 'cause I probably would have just burned a clip in him on principle alone."

"You're getting wise in your old age Dean," Sam said.

Dean nodded. "Damn right. 'Cause now I know how we're going to get it."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"Shtriga work through siblings, right?" Dean asked.

Sam nodded. "Right."

Dean shrugged. "Well last night—"

Sam nodded. "It went after Asher."

"So, I'm thinking tonight it's probably gonna come after Michael," Dean said.

"Well, we gotta get him outta here," Sam said.

Dean shook his head. "No. No, that would blow the whole deal."

"What?" Sam asked, irritated.

Dean nodded. "Yeah."

"You wanna use the kid as bait? Are you nuts? No! Forget it. That's out of the question," Sam snapped.

"It's not out of the question, Sam, it's the only way. If this thing disappears, it could be years before we get another chance," Dean said.

"Michael's a kid. And I'm not going to dangle him in front of that thing like a worm on a hook!" Sam yelled.

"I can do it!" I yelled, louder than I intended.

They both turned their attention to me.

Sam shook his head. "No. Definitely not."

"Why? Michael would never even have to know this kind of stuff exists, and I know you guys would be right there to take it out," I said.

Sam frowned slightly.

Dean sighed. "Maddi, it's a nice thought, but it's been working through siblings. and Hydecker doesn't even know that you exist." He turned his attention back to Sam. "Dad did not send me here to walk away."

Sam furrowed his brow. "Send you here? He didn't send you here... he sent us here."

"I'm the one who screwed up, all right. It's my fault. There's no telling how many kids have gotten hurt because of me." Dean sat down on his bed.

Sam sat down next to him, looking concerned. "What are you saying, Dean? How is it your fault?"

There was a long pause, and Sam and I exchanged concerned looks.

Sam sighed. "Dean. You've been hiding something from the get-go. Since when does Dad bail on a hunt? Since when does he let something get away? Now talk to me, man. Tell me what's going on."

Dean sighed. "Fort Douglas, Wisconsin. It was our third night in this crap room, and I was climbing the walls. Man, I needed to get some air. I made sure you were tucked in for bed, and then I split. Went to an arcade for a few hours while Dad was out. But when I got back, something wasn't right... I walked into the bedroom and saw the shtriga leaning over you. I grabbed the shotgun by the door, but when I cocked it, the thing backed up... hissing at me. I hesitated... I was terrified. Then Dad came running in, he shot at it, but it was useless. The ugly bastard jumped out the window and got away. After that, Dad just... grabbed us and booked. Dropped us off at Pastor Jim's about three hours away, but by the time he got back to Fort Douglas, the shtriga had disappeared, it was just gone. It never surfaced until now. Ya know, Dad never spoke about it again, I didn't ask." He shrugged. "But he... uh... he looked at me different, ya know? Which was worse. Not that I blame him. He gave me an order, and I didn't listen, I almost got you killed."

"You were just a kid," Sam said softly.

"Don't. Don't." Dean shook his head. "Dad knew this was unfinished business for me. He sent me here to finish it."

"But using Michael..." Sam sighed. "I don't know, Dean. I mean, how 'bout one of us hides under his covers, ya know, we'll be the bait."

Dean shook his head. "No, it won't work. It's gotta get close enough to feed... it'll see us. Believe me, I don't like it, but it's gotta be the kid."

"Well, we could get Michael outta here, and I could be the one hiding, then at least it's still a kid, and maybe it won't get freaked out," I suggested.

Dean shook his head. "He's coming here for Michael, if he pulls the covers back and sees you, he'll know something's up."


We went to the office and told Michael about the shtriga and our plan, but he didn't take it very well.

Michael held up the phone to hit whoever came close. "You're crazy! Just go away, or I'm calling the cops."

"Hang on a second. Just listen to me. You have to believe me, okay?" Dean tried to calm him down. "This thing came through the window, and it attacked your brother. I've seen it. I know what it looks like. 'Cause it attacked my brother once too."

Michael slowly put the phone down. "This thing... is it... like... it has this long... black robe?"

"You saw it last night, didn't you?" Dean asked.

"I thought I was having a nightmare," Michael said.

Dean sighed. "I'd give anything not to tell you this, but sometimes nightmares are real."

"So, why are you telling me?" Michael asked.

"Because we need your help," Dean said.

"My help?" Michael asked, confused.

"We can kill it. That's what we do. But we can't do it without you," Dean explained.

"What? No!" Michael was horrified.

"Michael, listen to me," Dean said, calmly, "This thing hurt Asher. And it's gonna keep hurting kids unless we stop it, understand me?"

Michael looked like he was going to cry.

"All right, it's okay, buddy," Sam said softly, "We're gonna go now."

With that, the three of us left Michael, terrified and upset.

"Well, that went crappy. Now what?" Dean asked after we walked into our room.

"What did you expect? You can't ask an adult to do something like that, much less a kid." Sam shrugged.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

We exchanged looks, and then Dean went over and answered the door.

Michael was standing there. "If you kill it, will Asher get better?"

Dean sighed. "Honestly? We don't know."

"You said you were a big brother," Michael said.

Dean nodded. "Yeah."

Michael glanced at Sam and me. "You'd take care of them? You'd do anything for them?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, I would."

"I'll help," Michael said


Sam and Dean set up Michael's room with a camera so that we could watch from the room next door with Sam's laptop. During that time, I got to know Michael a little bit more.

"So, you guys just travel around killing monsters?" Michael asked.

"Yeah, pretty much." I laughed.

"That sounds kinda crazy," Michael said.

I smirked. "It kinda is, but it's our life."

Michael looked over and watched Dean set up the camera with a terrified expression on his face.

I sat down on the bed next to him. "Look, my brothers won't let anything happen to you. They're gonna kill this thing, and you'll never have to worry about it again."

Michael looked at me and nodded.

"All right, this camera has night vision on it, so we'll be able to see clear as day," Dean said, causing us to look over. "Are we good?" he called to Sam.

"A hair to the right," Sam called back.

Dean adjusted the camera.

"What do I do?" Michael asked.

Dean walked over to us. "Just stay under the covers."

"And if it shows up?" Michael asked.

"We'll be right in the next room. We're gonna come in with guns. So, as soon as we do, you roll off this bed, and you crawl under it," Dean instructed.

Michael looked terrified. "What if you shoot me?"

Dean shook his head. "We won't shoot you. We're good shots. We're not going to fire until you're clear, okay?"

Michael nodded hesitantly.

"Have you heard a gunshot before?" Dean asked.

"Like in the movies?" Michael asked.

Dean shook his head. "It's gonna be a lot louder than in the movies. So, I want you to stay under the bed, cover your ears, do not come out until we say so. You understand?"

Michael nodded slowly.

"Michael, you sure you wanna do this?" Dean asked.

Michael hesitated.

"You don't have to, it's okay, I won't be mad," Dean said.

Michael shook his head. "No, I'm okay. Just don't shoot me."

"We're not going to let anything happen to you. I promise," Dean said and then nodded at me to follow him out of the room.

I stood up and started after him, but Michael grabbed my hand, so I turned around.

"Don't let them shoot me," Michael said.

I squeezed his hand. "I won't, but don't worry. They're going to take care of you. Really."

Michael nodded and let my hand go, so I left the room to meet Sam and Dean in the room next door.

"What was that about?" Sam smirked.

"He just wants me to make sure you guys won't shoot him," I said as I laid on the bed.

Sam and Dean sat in front of the laptop, watching and waiting for the shtriga to show up. I laid on my stomach, my head in my hands, watching as well, but at some point, I fell asleep.


I woke up to a blanket being draped over me. "What time is it?" I asked as Dean sat back down.

"Three," Sam answered and then turned his attention to Dean. "You sure these iron rounds are gonna work?"

Dean nodded. "Consecrated iron rounds, and yeah, it's what Dad used last time."

"Hey Dean, I'm sorry." Sam sighed.

Dean furrowed his brow. "For what?"

"Ya know, I've really given you a lot of crap for always following Dad's orders. But I know why you do it," Sam said.

Dean put his head back. "Oh, god, kill me now."

Sam laughed softly.

I sat up. "Guys, this is really cute, but look." I pointed to the screen.

There was a shadow of a long slender hand crossing over the window, which then slowly opened. Sam and Dean picked up their guns, getting ready to run into Michael's room. The shtriga had entered the room and was slowly walking over to Michael.

"Now?" Sam asked.

Dean shook his head. "Not yet."

The shtriga slowly made its way over to Michael and leaned over him. It opened its mouth, causing a blue glow to stream out of it.

"Now," Dean said, and then they ran out and burst into Michael's room.

"Hey!" Sam yelled.

"Michael, down!" Dean yelled.

I watched as Michael rolled under his bed, Sam and Dean then opened fire, shooting the shtriga multiple times until it dropped.

"Mike, you all right?" Dean asked.

"Yeah," Michael said.

"Just sit tight," Dean said as he crossed the room to check the shtriga.

He relaxed, putting his gun down, and nodded at Sam. Suddenly, the shtriga jumped up, grabbed Dean by the throat, and threw him against the wall.

I jumped up and started searching the room for anything I could use as a weapon.

"Dean!" Sam yelled.

I looked up at the screen, Sam was now being thrown across the room. I dropped down and looked under the bed and found a metal baseball bat. I grabbed it and ran into the room.

The shtriga had Sam pinned down with his mouth open, trying to draw the life out of him. Dean was slowly coming back to consciousness.

"Hey, jackass!" I yelled.

The shtriga looked up at me, and I hit it across the face with the baseball bat. It moved like a flash, threw the bat across the room and pinned me to the ground. It forced my mouth open and began drawing my energy out. I started feeling tired, empty, and completely helpless.

"Hey!" Dean yelled.

The shtriga looked up, and Dean shot it between the eyes. It fell backward off of me, and I gasped for breath.

"You okay, baby sis?" Dean asked, still laying on the ground.

"Yeah." I coughed.

Sam pulled me up and checked me over. Dean got up and stood over the shtriga, shooting it three more times in the chest. Wispy balls of light began escaping its mouth and exiting the room. The shtriga slowly sank into itself and disintegrated.

Michael peeked out from under the bed.

"It's okay, Michael, you can come on out," Dean said.

Michael walked over to us, smiling hesitantly. Dean nodded with a smile and placed his hand on Michael's shoulder. He turned his attention to me and pulled me into a hug. "Don't ever do that again."


The four of us picked up the mess in Michael's room, and then we parted ways. Sam, Dean, and I went back to our motel and packed up. While we were packing the car, Michael's mom pulled up in front of the office and got out.

"Hey, Joanna. How's Asher doing?" Dean called over to her.

Joanna smiled. "Hey. Have you seen Michael?"

Michael came running out of the office. "Mom! Mom!"

"Hey!" Joanna pulled him into a hug.

"How's Ash?" Michael asked.

"Got some good news. Your brothers gonna be fine." Joanna smiled.

"Really?" Michael asked, happily.

Joanna nodded. "Yeah. Really. No one can explain it... it's a miracle. They're going to keep him in overnight for observation, and then he's coming home."

"That's great," Dean said.

"How are all the other kids doing?" Sam asked.

"Good." Joanna nodded. "Real good. A bunch of them should be checking out in a few days. Dr. Travis says the ward's going to be like a ghost town."

"Dr. Travis? What about Dr. Hydecker?" Sam asked.

Joanna shrugged. "Oh, he wasn't in today. Must have been sick or something."

Dean nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, must have."

"So, did anything happen while I was gone?" Joanna asked Michael.

Michael glanced over at us. "Nah, same old stuff."

"Okay. You can go see Ash," Joanna said.

"Now?" Michael asked excitedly.

"Only if you want to." Joanna smiled.

Michael smiled at us and then ran to the van.

Joanna laughed. "I, uh, I'd better get going before he hotwires the car and drives himself." Then she quickly walked over to the van.

We turned back to the Impala.

"It's too bad," Sam said.

"Oh, they'll be fine," Dean said.

"That's not what I meant. I meant Michael. He'll always know there are things out there in the dark... he'll never be the same, ya know?" Sam paused. "Sometimes I wish that—"

"What...?" Dean asked.

"I wish we could have that kinda innocence," Sam said.

We watched Joanna and Michael drive away.

Dean turned back. "If it means anything, sometimes I wish you guys could too."