AN: This chapter has taken longer to put together than I think any other than I've ever worked on. With that being said, I really really really hope you all like it. :)


John was beyond stressed, he was borderline psychotic by the time he made it not to the small store he had been planning, but to the fourth in a fifteen mile radius since someone had decided to smash the pay phones and it took him longer than he expected to find a store clerk willing to let him use their phone behind the counter. He was low on patience and it was dropping rapidly at the thought of how long he'd left Dean and Sammy alone at the cabin.

The call was just connecting when a thought slammed in his head with enough force that he not only forgot what he was doing, but didn't recognize the voice that was currently growling in his ear through the receiver.

"So help me, you either talk or when I find out who the hell this is…"

Surprised, John looked down at his hand and realized that he was actually hearing Bobby. "Sorry Bobby. Look, Caleb's in trouble – he's off Interstate 65 North of Roselawn. Find him fast, I have to go." He said as he rushed out the door, praying he was wrong, praying he hadn't been played.

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Dean watched Sammy sleep on the couch as he stood by the fireplace, allowing the sounds of the night to wash over him. It wasn't like his baby brother to be this tired, but then again, with everything else seemingly going downhill, why wouldn't the kid's energy level? Refusing to get caught up in his dark thoughts, he moved to look out the window and paused when he noticed that even the wind had stopped moving. He didn't believe in coincidences, he was taught that those didn't exist. So now he had to wonder what was out there, and how close it was really.

The slight rustling of Sammy moving alerted Dean that whatever was out there was getting closer and wasn't there for coffee. Worse yet, John hadn't gotten back which was a whole other worry, but one he couldn't think about right now – he had bigger issues to deal with at the moment.

"Sammy… hey little brother, wake up." He said quietly as he reached the boy's side. Seeing that Sammy was caught up in a nightmare, he tried to watch both the window and his brother, but he knew a moment too late that whatever had been watching them was coming… coming… here.

The door swung open and slammed against the wall, leaving crumbled plaster from where the doorknob hit it. A man with strange yellow eyes walked in and smiled at the boy lying on the couch, ignoring the teen to his side.

"Sammy, Sammy, Sammy… I'm surprised at you. I've warned you about this, but I guess I'm just going to have to give you another lesson."

The stranger's attitude was bad enough, but for him to actually threaten his baby brother was too much. Dean pulled his gun, knowing it was loaded with blessed silver and open fired into the man's chest. Feeling pleased with the strangers screams, Dean was completely unprepared from the laughter that followed immediately after.

"Oh did you really think that something like that would hurt someone like me, boy?" he asked as he slowly turned his attention to Dean. This wasn't what he came to do, but sometimes a child needed to learn some manners. His smile wasn't kind or warm, but cold as he his gaze locked onto Dean's form and watched the teen body slam forcefully into the wall, narrowly missing the fireplace. "Now, how about letting me finish my discussion with little Sammy here, then you and I can finish ours."

Dean tried to pry himself off the wall, but could barely twitch his muscles. He'd dealt with spirits and even demons before, but this one seemed to be filled with high octane as far as strength went. Movement on the couch caught his attention and he knew instantly that his baby brother was now fully awake, aware, and scared to the point of near hysteria. He was about to give some comforting words when something in Sammy's eyes broke through; 'He knows this guy.' He thought, horrified at the prospect of Sammy having already running into this demon without…

"Damn it – get away from him!" Dean shouted as the man walked over to Sammy. He might not be the brightest crayon in the box, but he definitely could figure out what they had been missing – this was the demon that had been tormenting his little brother, and if he had anything to say about it, it was going to stop now! "Hey! I said leave him alone… what, you making up for some insecurities so you have to pick on a little boy? Come on – pick on someone your own size!" he continued to yell even though he knew it wasn't going to do any good. He could only hope that John would make it back in time. In time for what he had no idea, he only knew that Sammy was in trouble and it was getting worse by the second.

Sammy watched at the yellow eyed man got closer and knew that there was no way he could get away from him. Dean was trapped and John was gone, so that left him alone to face his nightmare. What was worse, even if he could fight, he wasn't sure he should – he'd seen what this thing could do first hand and he knew he couldn't survive losing his brothers. Tears were starting to fall as the demon got closer with his outstretched hand and he knew it was only a matter of moments before he would most likely become completely lost. Just as he was sure it was going to happen, he heard a shout from the doorway causing everyone's attention to turn.

"Sammy, Down!" John yelled as he opened fired on the stranger. He hadn't been there long, but by the sight of Dean being pressed against the wall and his baby brother in tears on the couch, he knew that this wasn't a situation to stand by and ask questions. He felt a sliver of happiness to see Sammy drop as they taught him, but that happiness quickly chanced to horror when he realized that none of his bullets were doing anything but fueling the bastard's amusement.

'We are so screwed!' he thought as he was flung through the air into the opposite wall, before everything went dark.

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Caleb stood at the crossroads and wondered what was going on. One minute he was visiting with his dead grandmother, the next…

"Boo!"

Turning, he saw a girl, a woman really, standing in the middle of the road as if she were extremely proud of herself. Having no idea what was really going on, he could only play along until he found something that seemed familiar and grab hold.

"Let me guess… you must be the Wicked Witch of the West." Caleb said with more confidence than he felt. He had no idea what was going on, but he'd be damned if he showed it.

Tara smiled and watched as Caleb put on an air of indifference – too bad she could see right through it. He was nervous, confused, and yes – scared out of his mind over what was going on. Oh yeah, she was about to have loads of fun.

"Aw, now why would you want to hurt my feeling like that? After all, you're the one who called me. Now… what is it that you need?" she asked, pretending to be supportive in his needs, but inwardly she was just waiting for the right moment to bring this hunter to his knees.

Caleb looked at the woman before him and knew that this had to be what his Gramma warned him about. Turning back around, he started down the dark road, ignoring her voice behind him. If he could just find something familiar he'd be fine, otherwise he'd just wander around until he became well and truly lost.

'Yeah, that's a good one Caleb.' He thought sourly, already knowing he was about as lost as he could get.

He continued to walk and was pretty sure that she wasn't following which suited him just fine; something about her made his skin crawl. Noticing a faint light up ahead, he quickened his pace in an effort to reach the light and maybe get an idea of where he was. It wasn't until he heard her voice as if she were right behind his ear that he stopped suddenly, knowing that he hadn't heard her correctly.

"You know, if little Sammy could see you now, he'd be disgusted. Looks like he's going to lose that bet with my boss afterall." Tara said slyly as she stood patiently and waited for the inevitable.

Not believing what he was hearing, Caleb fought himself for a few moments before he turned on the woman and demanded, "What did you say? Let me tell you something you little witch, I don't care who or what you think you are, you don't ever talk about that boy again – UNDERSTAND!?!"

Tara laughed and shook her head before she turned her back on the hunter and began to walk away. "Fine, have it your way Caleb. After all, you know best, right. But ask yourself this little bitty question: How did I know where to find you, even though you have no idea where you are yourself?"

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Jim held on and didn't utter a word, instead suffering in silence as Bobby pushed his truck to the very brink risking parts falling off as much as it was vibrating. Not that he could blame the man. The call they received from John was more than a little disturbing and one that they knew they had to respond to quickly. However, they would be able to do more good if they got to their destination in one piece.

"Don't say a word, Jim." Bobby muttered as he maneuvered through traffic before speeding up even more. It wasn't necessarily what the eldest Winchester boy had said that was disturbing, but what he hadn't said. There was no way that the kid would have called if he had planned on going to Caleb himself, and there was no way he wouldn't have gone to help out a fellow hunter if he'd been able. Which left him with an uneasy conclusion; something was terribly wrong, and he had the feeling it had to do with Sammy.

Again, Jim said nothing. He knew better than to further enrage the man next to him – too many close calls in the field taught him that. He could only hope that whatever it was that had Bobby this worried, would be able to wait until they found Caleb and could tackle it together.

The mile marker for Roselawn showed another twenty miles, but Bobby and Jim both knew that what they were looking for was actually closer than that. They had to slow down considerably since it was dark, and they were using a less traveled road as was their normal tendencies – if Caleb was close by, he'd be on that particular stretch. It was another ten minutes of slow driving, and neck stiffening searching before they saw it – what looked to be a vehicle on its side down the embankment further up the road.

After getting as close as they dared with the truck, both Bobby and Jim took the flashlights out of the glovebox and rushed to the vehicle, trying not to fall into chuckholes or trip over rocks while doing so. It didn't take long to reach it, but once they got a decent look at their friend, they had to worry that they had been too late. Blood was covered Caleb's face and neck and his arms lay limply against the ground. What had them the most concerned though was Caleb's lower body was trapped underneath his own vehicle – it had rolled over on top of him.