2008: Misplaced Misadventure

Last Chapter

Evy's eyes glistened with tears as she came to a realization. "Connor?"

The stranger smiled wider and nodded.

"Cricket? Do you know him? Who is this?"

"He's…" Evy swallowed, trying to stop herself from shaking. She put a hand to the wall to support herself. "He's my son."

Two Years Earlier

Evy woke to a pounding headache, and the certainty that she was not where she was supposed to be. She pushed herself up and clutched her forehead, trying to rub out the ache. When it didn't work, Evy slowly opened her eyes and looked around.

What felt like just a few seconds earlier, she'd been with Sam and Dean, poring over ways with Sam to save Dean from hell while arguing with Dean over whether or not to do it. She had gotten ticked off with Dean and walked away, telling her brothers she was 'going to take a walk'. She had gotten around a half mile away from Bobby's when she felt it.

Something was coming for her.

The next thing Evy knew, a bright light had surrounded her, and she'd felt herself falling down a deep, dark hole. She had a brief memory of Sam reading her Alice in Wonderland as a small child, and just as she thought it seemed to fit her situation, she was knocked unconscious.

Now, as she tried to take in her surroundings, she thought about her situation. She had no idea where she was. Not a clue. It was cold, much colder than it had been at Bobby's, so her only clue was that she was somewhere far north. Once she was satisfied that there was nothing that was going to come right out and attack her, she started to walk.

She walked for what felt to her like hours, but was probably no more than a half hour or so, when she came to a small town. It reminded Evy of Whoville from How the Grinch Stole Christmas. All the houses circled the outer part of town, with some businesses in the middle. Small children played out in the center of town, and from the way the sun looked to be positioned in the sky, it was afternoon going into evening. They're out of school, Evy thought. When she felt her stomach rumble, she knew that trying to keep walking on an empty stomach would be useless at this point, so she put her knife away and walked towards the town.

The people seemed friendly enough. They all nodded and waved hello to her. There was a bank, a toy store, a fire station, a library, a grocery store, a doctor's office, a drug store, and a police station. The biggest building in town was the school. It was divided into three sections, each labeled by grade level-elementary, middle, and high school. Evy's stomach rumbled again, and she made her way to what seemed to be the only place to eat in town, a small pub called Ryan's.

Being the middle of the afternoon, Evy was surprised to find the place so busy. She sought out a spot at the bar, the easiest place she could think of to keep an eye on everyone. When she sat down, she was almost immediately approached by the bartender.

"You don't look like you're from here."

"Um, I'm not." Evy said. "Just passing through."

"We're way out of the way for you to just be passing through."

"This may sound like a weird question, but where exactly am I?"

"A little early on the bottle, are we?"

"Excuse me?" Evy asked.

"You started drinking a little too soon." The bartender explained.

"I haven't been drinking. I'm just a little lost." Evy said irritably. "Could you please just tell me where we are?"

"Place called Jordan Valley. Little bit north of Anchorage."

"Anchorage? Anchorage, Alaska?" Evy asked disbelievingly.

"Aye. One and the same."

"Great. Just great." Evy said. "Do you have a phone I can use?"

"Sure. Right there on the wall. You want something to drink?"

"Um, sure. Coke, please."

"Coming up."

Evy went to the wall to use the payphone, and after thinking who still has payphones anymore?, she dialed the number to Bobby's house collect. She was surprised when the number came up as not in service, but not particularly worried. Only once she tried Dean's cell, and Sam's, and Bobby's, and Bobby's other other cell, with none of the numbers working, did she become sick with worry.

She had somehow traveled thousands of miles from Bobby's, and was now lost in a remote town in a remote part of the country, with no cell phone, nothing on her but a little cash and her knife, and no personal possessions of any kind.

Don't panic, Evy thought. Eat first, then figure out what to do.

Evy made her way back to the bar, where there was a tall glass waiting for her with a straw sticking out. "Thanks." she said to the bartender.

"No problem. On the house. Did you reach your friends?"

"Um, no. No, I didn't." Evy said. "I guess I'll have to find a place to stay tonight and collect my bearings."

"I've got a room upstairs for you if you need it."

"Oh, no thanks. I couldn't ask you to do that. Is there a motel or something nearby?"

"No. There's not. We're not used to getting visitors. I keep the room for the supply guys that come in and out of town and need a place to crash. It's not much, but it's quiet, private, got air, power, and water."

"Then I guess it'll do. How much?"

"How long you planning on staying in town for?" The bartender asked.

"I honestly don't know." Evy said.

"I'll make you a deal. You look like a smart kid. I'm looking for someone to help me keep the place clean. You do that for me, room's yours, plus three square meals a day, as long as you want it."

"Sounds too good to be true."

The bartender chuckled. "There's one drawback. It gets pretty rowdy in here at night, so it might be hard to sleep until early in the morning."

"All I'd have to do is clean?"

"Scout's honor."

Evy knew the offer was too good to be true, but she didn't plan to be here long. A day or two at the most, hopefully, but she knew that finding a viable option out of here was likely to take a lot longer than that. She knew that if Dean found out, he'd threaten to 'deal with this the way Dad would've', but she really had no other options. She knew how to take care of herself. Stay in the private, free room, or freeze out in the woods with no supplies.

"I'll take it." Evy said, offering her hand to the bartender. "I'm Evelyn. Everyone calls me Evy."

"I'm Ryan."

"As in Ryan's?" Evy asked.

"I'm the owner." Ryan explained. "And this handsome devil coming in now is my son."

"Dad, come on. Really?"

"Hey, you don't seem to have any luck with the ladies around here. So meet our newest tenant. Evelyn…"

"Evy. Evy Winchester."

Ryan's son, who had not had a good luck at his father's guest yet, turned and blushed when he saw Evy. "Hello there, Evy. Nice to meet you. I'm Peter."