Once Bobby dropped Dean back at the highway to get his car, Dean followed Bobby back into town and to the motel where Bobby had checked in. They entered Bobby's room and Dean was immediately struck at much the room already looked like Bobby's house. There were books and newspapers and all sorts of other research materials all over the room.

"Bobby. You just got here. What the hell is all this."

Bobby looked over at Dean like he was crazy. "Always be prepared. Boy scout motto, right?"

Dean nodded and gave Bobby a strange look. "Yeah, sure," he said as he walked over to a chair by the table, sat down, and picked up a few of the pieces of paper on the table. "So what the hell are we dealing with here?"

Bobby began moving papers around on the bed, obviously looking for something buried beneath the mountain of paper. He finally found what he was looking for and stood up, carrying the book over to Dean. "Is this what you saw?" he asked as he pointed to a drawing on the page.

Dean took the book and looked at the image Bobby pointed to. "Dammit Bobby! That's it!" Dean looked at the text around the picture, but it wasn't English. He couldn't quit recognize what it was, and he certainly couldn't read it. "What the hell is it?"

Bobby looked at Dean and watched for his expression. "It's a soldier demon."

Dean looked up from the book at Bobby. "No way. They can't get out of hell, can they?"

Bobby shook his head and walked over to a small refrigerator that sat in the corner of the room. He pulled out two bottles of beer and popped the tops off before handing one to Dean. "Not usually, no. They're bound by hell's laws and can't escape that. The only way they can get out is if another demon physically carries them out. That just doesn't happen. Demons travel better alone, and soldier demons weigh them down – makes it harder for them to move from plane to plane. But the real kicker is – I haven't heard of a soldier demon being able to move about freely in over 3000 years. Even if they make it out of hell, they require a host body to be able to survive. They can't just jump from person to person like the other demons can."

"Bobby, this thing wasn't in a host body. It was out – on its own. How is that possible?" Dean asked incredulously.

"Yesterday, I wouldn't have thought it was possible, but yesterday I didn't think there was a knife capable of killing demons, either, and Ruby proved me wrong on that one. One think you gotta learn in this business – you never learn all there is to learn."

Dean stood up from the chair and started pacing the floor in his usual manner. He stuck one hand in the pocket of his jeans and the other he held up to his face as he chewed slightly on the end of his thumbnail. It was a bad habit, but one he couldn't entirely break himself of. "So what do we do? How do we track something that until now we thought was impossible to begin with?"

Bobby gave Dean a frustration look. "I'm not really sure yet. I've made some phone calls, though, and I should hear something within the hour."

Dean stood up and reached for his jacket.

"Where the hell are you going?" Bobby asked grumpily.

Dean looked at Bobby as he pulled the coat on and dug his keys out of his pocket. "I'm going back out to that corn field. You call me if you hear anything."

"Dean, wait. You can't go traipsing around out there by yourself. If that thing comes back, it will have both of you!"

Dean turned to Bobby, an angry and defiant expression on his face. "I don't care, Bobby! I can't just sit here and do nothing while it's got Sam! If I can get even a few feet closer to it, I'm going to go!"

"And what am I supposed to do if you both disappear?" Bobby didn't like this plan at all. These boys were like sons to him – especially with John gone. Bobby had really taken it upon himself to watch out for them, and the thought of losing either one of them scared the hell out of him.

"If we both disappear, find Ruby. I'm willing to bet you anything she'll know about what's going on here. Especially if freaking soldier demons are involved." Dean reached for the doorknob but hesitated and turned back to Bobby, a more compassionate and sad look on his face. "I can't just leave him out there, Bobby. I have to at least try to find him."

Bobby knew even before they'd started that he'd lost this fight, but he'd also known he had to try. "I know," he said quietly.