Sioux Falls, South Dakota
She woke to the smell of bacon. Cold sunlight filtered through the window, unlike the warm light that accompanied the summer. Alex stretched and got up. She silently made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen to see Bobby standing near the stove. "Morning," she yawned.
"Morning to you too." Bobby motioned to a plate next to him. "Help yourself."
Alex did so. "Where's Sam and Dean?"
"They're already gone."
"Gone?" Alex looked up sharply.
"Yup. Got up before I did, hightailed it out of here," Bobby explained.
"Great," Alex muttered. She sat down at the kitchen table and nibbled on the fried meat. "I suppose they wanted to get away before I woke up."
"I'm sure they had their reasons." Bobby neither confirmed nor denied her statement, but Alex was pretty sure she was right. He looked over at her. "Can't really blame them for wanting to be on their own."
"What does that mean?" Alex asked, slightly offended.
"Not because of you," Bobby quickly backtracked. "They're just use to it being the two of them, you know?"
"Fine," she sighed. "Guess I better make myself useful." She quickly wolfed down the bacon and put her plate in the barely-functioning dishwasher. Running upstairs, she got dressed in a clean pair of jeans, one of Dean's shirts, and one of his old jackets she had commandeered. Going back downstairs, she stopped by the kitchen.
"You going out?" Bobby asked her. When Alex nodded, he continued. "Get some food while you're at it. Store's running low." Alex checked the fridge to confirm what he said. She made a mental note of what to buy. She turned to leave. "And get some beer," Bobby yelled over to her.
"I'll see what I can do." She walked to the back door, grabbing the keys to her Chevelle out of the drawer. Stepping outside, Alex was immediately hit with a gust of cold air. She turned up the collar of the jacket and hurriedly made her way down the steps. She got in the car, checked the glove compartment to make sure there was a copy of some fake license Bobby had made for her, and drove out of the salvage yard.
She reached town within five minutes, and parked the car in the grocery store parking lot. Baring the cold, she got out and quickly made her way into the grocery store. "Alex!" She had barely gotten three steps in before she heard her name.
"Charlie." Alex let out a genuine smile. "How's it going?"
Charlie Dayton, the owner of Charlie's Antiques and a Vietnam veteran, made his way over to her. "Good, good. It's good to see you again." He let out a crooked smile.
"Yeah, you too." Alex had spent her first four months working for him at his store down the street, and had come to know him well.
"When you didn't show up last week, I got worried," the old man continued.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Something, something came up," she admitted.
"I hope nothing too bad." Charlie let out a small frown. "How's Bobby doing?" He changed the subject.
"He's doing very well. He hasn't gotten out much. Sent me down to get some food."
"He hasn't been drinking much?" Charlie asked worriedly, lips pursed. Bobby had become known as the town's drunk, and many people were worried for Alex and her safety.
"No. He's gotten a lot better. The past four months were really tough on him, but I think everything's turning around."
"Good." The veteran nodded. "If you're not too busy, I would love it if you stopped by the store. I got a new shipment in a few days ago, and Braydon's been rather busy lately." Alex knew Braydon Dayton, Charlie's son. He had often stopped by the store. Tall and dark-haired, he was only five or so years older then Alex.
She nodded. "Yeah, I can do that. Let me finish up here, and I'll meet you there, okay?"
Charlie agreed and ambled off.
"Careful," Alex called. "It's a bit chilly." Charlie waved his hand to let her know he heard.
Alex sighed, and continued on farther into the store. After gathering all the food she would need, she paid, packed it all into large paper bags, and made her way back out to the car.
...
October, 25th, 2008
It was four weeks later. Everyday was pretty much uneventful. She made several trips into town, spending many hours doing odd jobs around the block. One day, around mid-afternoon, the phone rang. "Get the phone!" Bobby yelled from the top floor.
"Fine." Alex rolled her eyes. She picked it the landline. "Hello. Bobby's."
"Alex?" Sam's voice came over the phone.
"Yup." Alex sat down on the desk. "How's it going?"
"Uh, good. Is Bobby there?"
"He's upstairs." Alex shrugged. "Is everything alright?"
"I'm not sure." Sam answered the question slowly, and Alex leaned forward.
"Are you guys okay?" she asked worriedly. She covered the receiver with her hand. "Bobby?" she yelled. "It's Sam."
"Hang on," Bobby yelled back.
"Is something wrong?" Alex asked again.
"Uh, yeah, I, I don't know," he stuttered. "Dean's been acting a little weird, that's all."
"Hm." Alex grunted. "You guys working a case?"
"Yeah." Sam seemed thankful for the change of subject. "Some guy, Frank O'Brian. Had a heart attack. Healthy man, completely out of the blue. Coroner couldn't find anything wrong." He let out a quiet laugh. "The Sheriff here's a little weird too. Complete germaphobe. Even made us take off our shoes before we entered his office."
Alex paused, worried. She had a hunch, and a pretty good one at that. "This, uh, dead guy. He didn't happen to have, scratches, on his arm, did he?"
"Well, yeah. Coroner said it was normal." A pause. "Dean's got something similar . . ."
"And, Dean. He's been acting weird, you say? Like, scared of everything weird?" Alex asked. Bobby came down the stairs, pausing beside Alex.
"Yeah. Exactly."
Alex let out a breath.
"Alex? What does that mean?"
"Where are you guys?" Alex asked.
"Rock Ridge, Colorado," Sam answered.
"Rock Ridge, Colorado," Alex repeated to Bobby. "Got it. We'll get down there as soon as we can."
"What's going on?" Both Sam and Bobby asked, almost simultaneously.
"Dean's got 'ghost sickness'. Like the Sheriff. And Frank O'Brian," Alex quickly explained. "From the moment of infection, the victim only has 48 hours, each hour getting increasingly scared of stuff, until they start hallucinating, and their heart literally gives out. Caused by a buruburu, usually goes after victims who all share a common trait. Got to go. Talk to you later. We'll be there sometime late tonight." Alex hung up. "Get your stuff," she instructed Bobby. "We're leaving." The phone rang again, but Alex didn't answer. Bobby reached for it, but Alex stopped him. "I'll call him in the car. We need to get going." She tossed him the keys. "Let's go."
Bobby complied, and hurriedly packed some spare clothes before heading out the door. Alex grabbed her cellphone and her bag of clothes before following him out. "Rock Ridge, you said?"
"Yeah." Alex flipped open her phone. She dialed a number, and brought it up to her ear. After a few seconds, the other line picked up.
"Alex?"
"Yeah. Sorry about that. We're on our way." Alex threw her bag in the back seat of Bobby's car before getting in the passenger seat.
"It's fine." There was some noise on the other side, and Alex heard Dean's voice as Bobby pulled the car out into the street.
"Hey. I'm not going to die, right? I don't want to die." He sounded scared.
"Of course not," Alex assured him. "You're going to be fine."
"Are you sure?" Dean persisted.
"Yes. You've still got twenty-four hours. I need to talk to Sam, okay?" Alex heard Sam roughly take the cell phone away from him.
"Anything we can do?"
"Yeah, yeah. Let me think. There's a mill. Lumber mill. It's important. Have a look around, okay?"
"Okay. Talk to you later." Sam hung up.
"Yeah," Alex nodded, hanging up as well.
"A buruburu, you say?" Bobby glanced over at her.
"Yeah. Japanese, right?" Alex nodded.
"Yeah. So you know what's going on."
"Uh-huh." Alex rested her elbow on the armrest. "I loved this episode; I've been waiting for this to happen a while now." She rested her forehead against the window, and added with a sigh, "Wish I was there."
Bobby just grunted. "Grab my bag." As Alex complied, he added, "On top. There's a book. Written in Japanese. Should be some help."
"Yeah. To you, maybe." Alex opened it, frowning. "Personally, I can't read it."
"Now's as a good a time to learn as any." Bobby told her.
Alex rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. "I can't pick up a language within a couple hours! I'm not you, Bobby."
"Just try."
...
"I give up." Alex set down the book several hours later. "This isn't possible." She set it down on the dashboard. "If you want me to read this, I need it in a different language."
Bobby turned the car into a small town. "We'll stop here for the night," he informed her. "We're only an hour out, and Dean's still got a full day. We'll head out early tomorrow."
Alex shrugged. "Sure. If that's what you think is best."
Bobby nodded his head pulled into a hotel. He quickly checked them in and led Alex up to their room. She quickly changed into suitable night clothes, lay down in a bed, and flicked on the tv. A few hours later she was asleep.
...
Alex's phone rang. Her eyes snapped open, looking for the source of the noise in the dim light. Bobby let out a grumble and flicked on the lamp. The phone rang again, and Alex reached for the mobile device. "'Yello," she answered it.
"Where's Dean?"
"What?" Alex laid down on the bed, eyes rolling back in her head.
"Dean took off. I thought he went back to the motel, but he isn't here." Sam sounded genuinely scared.
Alex yawned again and looked at the clock. 2:08 am. "He's out running," she said tiredly, stifling yet another yawn. "He's being chased by a, uh, a Yorkie. He'll be back soon. Me and Bobby are a few hours out. We'll be there in the morning." She let out a huff. "You know its only two in the morning, right?"
"Yeah." Sam didn't seem to understand the importance. "So?"
"So?" Alex repeated.
Bobby shushed her. "Some of us are trying to sleep."
Alex lowered her voice. "I was asleep, Sam," she hissed.
"I'm sorry, but this is important."
"Dean's going to live. Otherwise we wouldn't have stopped for the night."
"And what if you're wrong?" Sam asked. "What, what if you, I don't know, inadvertently changed something by landing here? Dean could die."
"Dean is not going to die." Alex hissed. "Good night." With that she hung up and turned off the light. Her phone rang again, and Alex shoved it under her pillow, effectively stifling the noise.
...
Alex woke to hear Bobby moving around the room. "'Bout time," he said when Alex rolled over. "It's time to go."
Alex groaned and slid out of bed. "Too early," she mumbled, shuffling over to the bathroom. She glanced at the digital clock. 5:26. "Nope," she mumbled again. She quickly changed into jeans and a t-shirt.
...
Rock Ridge, Colorado
They quickly checked out of the hotel. "No breakfast?" Alex had asked.
Bobby shook his head. "No time," was all he had said.
Within the hour they arrived in Rock Ridge, Colorado. Bobby had called Sam, and they had arranged to meet at the lumber mill. By the time they got there, Sam was leaning up against the Impala. Bobby pulled his rusted car up behind Sam and got out. "Howdy, Sam." Bobby greeted the younger brother, getting out of his car. He circled around to stand by Sam.
"Hey, Bobby. Thanks for coming so quick." Sam acknowledged Alex with a nod. He sat down on the hood of the Impala, pulling his feet up to rest on the bumper.
"Where's Dean?" The young girl looked around.
"Uh, home sick."
"Oh. So have his hallucinations started yet?"
"Yeah. A few hours ago," Sam nodded.
"And how we doing on time?" Bobby asked.
Sam looked thoughtful. "Well, we saw the coroner around eight a.m, Monday morning, so that puts us just under an hour."
Alex nodded. "Good."
Sam frowned. "That's cutting it close," he rebutted. He turned to Bobby. "What about you? You find anything?"
Bobby pulled out the Japanese book and handed it to Sam. "This, uh, encyclopedia of spirits dates back to the Edo period." He leaned against the car next to Sam, and Alex joined him. The metal was warm beneath her hands, and she ran one across the side.
Sam flipped through a few pages. "You can read Japanese?"
In response, Bobby rattled of several Japanese words which may or may not have been a cohesive sentence.
"Guess so."
"Showoff," Alex mumbled. Bobby gave her a half-hearted nudge.
"Anyways, this book lists a kind of ghost that sounds like our guy. It, uh, infects people with fear."
"Buruburu?" Sam guessed. Bobby nodded. "Does it say how to kill it?" Sam looked over at Alex.
"Same as usual," Bobby responded. "Burn it's remains."
"Wonderful. Is . . . is there a Plan B?" Sam asked nervously.
"Well, the Buruburu is born of fear. Hell, it is fear. And the lore says we can kill it with fear."
"So we have to scare the ghost to death." Sam looked unconvinced.
Alex nodded. "Basically."
"And how are we going to do that?" Sam looked at Alex, expecting her to answer.
"Well, if I remember correctly, the ghost, the tall, bald one. He was road-hauled, right?" When Sam nodded, she continued. "Then you guys road-hauled the ghost. It worked in the show."
"Great." Sam didn't look convinced. "In the show."
"It hasn't been wrong." Alex shrugged, not really sure what else to say. "And right now, we're out of options."
Sam knew she was right. He nodded. "Then we should get started." He let out a breath. "How're we going to road-haul a ghost?" He muttered to himself.
"Same way you road-haul a guy." She pulled out her phone. "You guys get started; I'm going to give Dean a call, tell him what's going on." Sam began to protest, but Alex cut him off. "You're more useful helping Bobby than I am. I know what I'm doing, and everything's going to be fine. But only if we get started now."
Sam hesitated, but finally relented. "Okay. Let's go." He circled around to the Impala's trunk while Alex dialed Dean's number.
"Dean?"
"Who is it?" Dean sounded scared.
"It's Alex." Alex sat down on the back of Bobby's rusted old car. "How are you doing?"
"Okay. Just watching some tv."
"Uh, okay. It scary?"
"Yeah."
"Better turn it off." Alex heard the faint click of the tv set. "Thanks. We've got a plan, so just hold on for a little while longer."
"Why should I trust you?" Dean asked. "You could be setting them off so I'll die!"
"Why would I let you die?" Alex scoffed at his irrationality.
"You let me go to Hell!"
"You came back. And now Cas is here. Dean, listen to me. I am not going to let you die, you understand?"
"Alex!" Alex turned at Sam voice.
"Got to go. See you around." Then she hung up. Hurrying across the ground, she stopped beside Sam and Bobby. "Got a plan?"
"Same as before," Sam said tensely, but Alex let it slide. She knew he was just worried for his brother's safety. "Okay. I'll go in there and lure him out. Then . . . how do we road-haul a ghost?"
Alex shrugged. "I dunno. They, uh, you, you used a chain. Iron, maybe?"
Bobby walked around to the back of his car. "Here. Iron chain, etched with spells."
Alex shook her head. "You just keep that in the trunk?"
"I got lots of things in my trunk."
"You're awesome." Sam let out a faint smile. "Okay. We'll hook the chain to the Impala. I'll go in and wrap it around him. Alex, with me."
Alex held back the shock. "Uh, yeah. Sure."
...
After they grabbed their flashlights and shotguns, Sam led Alex into the mill. "This place is creepy," Alex muttered. They wandered around before walking into the room where Sam said they had seen Luther. Sam dragged the chain behind him. He laid it in the room, covering it with the sawdust on the floor.
When Alex made a questioning noise, he explained. "We're going to lure Luther in here. Then we can wrap the chain around him and signal Bobby."
"Hm. Okay." Alex let him finish, then followed him back out of the room.
"Any luck?" Bobby's voice came over the walkie-talkie.
"I don't know what's wrong, Bobby," Sam admitted, casting a glance at Alex. She shrugged. "Last time he came right at us. It's almost like he's, uh . . . like he's scared." He laid his shotgun down on the ground. Alex slowly did the same, not overly fond of losing her only source of protection.
"So now what?"
"I guess we got to make him angry." Sam looked around. His eyes rested on several drawings hanging on and above a desk. "Hey Luther!" he yelled, walking over to it. He picked up a drawing and tore it apart. The machines around them suddenly turned on. Alex jumped. "Come on, Luther! Where the hell are you? What are you waiting for?" He dug through the desk, tearing up more pictures.
Alex glanced behind, and froze. A tall, large man stood there. Square jaw, dark eyes, cuts covering his face. "Sam?" she asked very, very quietly. The man struck out, sending her flying. She hit the wall, slumping to the ground. She shook the dizziness away, struggling to her feet. Sam and the man were struggling. Alex stumbled over there, throwing herself around the man's waist. She pulled him off of Sam, and he turned on her. He threw a punch, hitting her square in the face. Large hands wrapped themselves around her throat. "Sam!" Alex yelled.
In response, Sam grabbed the large chain he had hidden, wrapping it around Luther's neck. "Bobby!" he yelled. "Punch it!"
The man froze, dropping Alex. Then he was yanked away. He slid out of the room as the chain pulled him away. Alex pulled herself up into a sitting position, breathing heavily.
"Come on." Sam grabbed his shotgun and hurried out the door. Alex followed.
...
Outside, she saw the Impala several yards away, the metal chain dragging behind it. The man was nowhere to be seen. Bobby pulled the car back around. "Did it work?" Sam asked worriedly.
Bobby nodded. "Seems like it."
Sam grabbed his phone. He dialed a number. It rung for a while, and Sam looked over at Alex, worried. Then Dean picked up. Sam let out a grin of relief. "Thank God."
...
Sam went to go pick up Dean, telling Bobby and Alex to wait there. Alex sat down on the hood of Bobby's rusted car, staring off into the distance. Bobby put the chain back into the trunk. She rubbed her jaw. "For a ghost, he sure hits hard," she muttered.
She barely heard Bobby snigger.
...
Ten minutes later the Impala returned. Sam and Dean got out. Alex got off the car. "Hey Dean. You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Dean shot her a small smile. Sam took a cooler out of the car, setting it on the ground. He pulled out three beers. He gave one to Sam, and offered one to Bobby, but he shook his head. Dean put it back. "So," Dean began, "you guys seriously road-hauled a ghost with a chain?" He cracked open his drink.
Sam nodded. "Iron chain etched in spell work."
"Hmm. That's a new one." Dean took a sip of his beer. "And who exactly came up with this?"
"Alex." Bobby looked over at her. "I already had the chain, but she's the one who came up with how to scare it to death."
Alex shrugged. "I remembered it from the show," she admitted.
"It was what he was most afraid of," Sam added. "It was pretty brutal, though."
Alex nodded in agreement.
"Well, on the upside, I'm still alive, so, uh, go team." Dean raised his beer.
"Yeah. How are you feeling, by the way?"
"Fine."
"You sure, Dean? 'Cause this line of work can get awful scary."
Dean glanced at Bobby. "I'm fine. You want to go hunting? I'll go hunting. I'll kill anything!"
"Awww. He's adorable," Bobby chuckled, and Alex laughed as well. "I got to get out of here. You boys drive safe." He circled around to the driver's seat. "Alex. You staying or going?"
Alex looked over at Sam and Dean. "Not sure. Depends."
Sam glanced at Dean, who stared back. "I don't see why not."
"Dean," Sam protested.
"Hey. She saved my life, Sam. Maybe there's something to this . . . show thing after all."
Sam squared his jaw. "Fine," he finally relented.
Alex grinned. "Awesome." She grabbed her bag out of the backseat. They watched Bobby drive off. When he was out of sight, she circled around to put her bag in the Impala.
"So, uh, what'd you see?" Sam asked Dean quietly.
"Besides a cop beating my ass?"
"Seriously."
Dean looked at Sam, taking another, long sip of beer. He suddenly looked away. "Howler monkeys," he finally said. "Whole room full of 'em. Those things creep the hell out of me."
Sam let out an amused snort. "Right."
"No. Just the usual stuff, Sammy. Nothing I couldn't handle." He turned to Alex. "You ready?"
"Pretty much." She got in the backseat. Sam and Dean got in the front. Dean turned on the car, and cranked the music up.
They drove away.