Summersville, West Virginia

Killian rolled the Chevelle to a stop in the parking lot of a dark and dingy looking diner, and then killed the engine. He hadn't been back to this place in years but for a while during his childhood, it had felt like the closest thing to a home he'd had since his mother had died.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Liam asked, his eyes lingering over the gloomy doorway. "Didn't Dad and Granny have a massive falling out a few years back? Have they made things up since then?"

"Dad ends up arguing with everyone at some point in time, Liam. You know that better than anyone else."

"So that's a no, then."

"Look, if you wanna stay in the car, stay in the car," Killian snapped. "I want a decent place to sleep tonight and some good food – all of which Granny can provide. So if it's okay with you, I'm gonna go and say hi."

Liam rolled his eyes to the roof as his brother pulled open the car door and slipped from his seat. The two boys might have been estranged for the last few years, but he could still read Killian like a poorly-written romance novel. There was something on his brother's mind, something he hadn't yet shared with Liam. And whatever that something was, it was bad enough to have him overlooking their father's past mistakes.

"Are you coming or not?" Killian barked, as he leaned in through the open car door to grab his duffel bag from behind the driver's seat.

"I'm coming," Liam sighed, stretching out to snag the handle on his own bag with one hand as he reached for the door handle with the other.

Killian waited just long enough to lock the car behind his brother before he turned on his heels and headed straight for the front door. Liam had to jog a little to catch up to him.

Inside, the diner looked just the same as Liam had always remembered. Granny liked to keep things as clean and orderly as she could, but given the clientele she catered for, the diner always seemed to have a dark and foreboding feel to it. Liam had no doubts that she passed her hygiene inspections every year with flying colors, but he knew it was the kind of place that any respectable person would immediately turn away from, the second they stepped through the front door.

There were a few middle-aged men at tables dotted around the space, more interested in whatever documents were spread out in front of them than the food that was cooling to their left. Liam didn't recognize any of them, but he was certain that they all shared a common interest in hunting down the ghosts and ghouls that went bump in the middle of the night.

Granny wasn't anywhere to be seen. Both boys knew she wouldn't be far away, however. She never was.

Killian offered his brother a small cheeky wink before he strode over to the counter and slammed his palm down on the bell. The little tinkling noise it made seemed completely out of place for the gloomy diner.

The sound of hurried footsteps met their ears and both boys turned their heads just in time to watch as Granny pushed aside the beaded curtain at the back of the room and stepped out of the kitchen.

"I'll be with you in –" She froze abruptly at the sight of the Jones brothers standing only feet away from her.

Liam had been expecting her to look annoyed by their presence, or even angry to see such a clear reminder of their father stood insider her place of business. Granny didn't look angry or annoyed, though. Instead, she looked downright terrified.

Liam opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong but she cut him off before he could speak a word.

"Wha – How? How are you here?" she asked, her eyes glued to Killian's form.

"Hey, Granny. Long time no see," his brother quipped, rocking back on his heels.

Killian was offering the older woman his most dazzling smile and to anyone else, he probably looked like he didn't have a care in the world. Liam knew differently, however. He could tell that his brother was nervous. Killian's shoulders were held rigidly high, almost as though he was bracing himself for some kind of attack.

"You can't be here," Granny said, a little more firmly this time as she took a few small steps towards the counter.

"Whatever Dad did, we had no part of," Liam offered. He might as well have been talking to the counter for all the good it did him. Neither his brother nor Granny was paying him the slightest bit of attention.

"I need some answers, Granny," Killian whispered, so quietly that Liam almost missed it. "I need –"

Killian's words were cut off suddenly as Granny threw the contents of her hip flask straight into his face. Liam had to stuff his fist into his mouth to smother the bark of laughter building in his throat from the look of complete and utter bewilderment on his brother's face. His sense of humor died, however, when Granny finally seemed to find her voice.

"You can't be here," she protested, her eyes flying up and down Killian's form as if she was looking for something. What that something was, Liam didn't know.

"I'm sorry, Granny. I don't know what Dad did, but… I'm sorry," Killian offered.

It was the first time Liam had seen his brother apologize for their father's behavior, and that alone was a rather worrying thought. Whatever was going on was clearly bad enough to have his brother mending fences he normally would never have spared a second thought for.

"Liam and I wouldn't here if it wasn't absolutely necessary."

At the sound of his name, Granny's eyes finally darted to the left and widened slightly as she took in the sight of Liam Jones standing awkwardly just behind the cash register. The older woman almost looked like she wanted to offer him a smile, but something seemed to stop her last minute and she bit it off to offer his brother another critical glare.

"We need your help," Killian implored. "Dad's gone missing and something… something really fucking strange is happening right now, Granny. I don't know how else to explain it."

Granny didn't speak for the longest moment. Killian and Liam both held their breath as they waited for her to reply.

"Oh, Killian," she finally sighed, her shoulders sagging a little as her whole body lost the rigidity it had carried since she'd first clapped eyes on the eldest of the Jones brothers. "What did that idiot father of yours do this time?"

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