The eight-ball bounced off the soft green side panel and spun across the table, glancing a pair of the remaining opposition balls and sliding easily into the corner pocket. Dean watched the black ball disappear into the hole and sighed in contentment as he listened to the soft thunk of the expertly played shot.
Sam groaned wearily and hung his cue back up on the wall rack beside him. "There was a time when you would let me win at least onegame …"
"Oh, poor little Sammy." Dean grinned triumphantly, "And then you'd only complain that I was patronizing you."
"Screw you." Sam smiled and turned away from his brother, heading away from the table. "My round then - again?"
"Them's the rules, little sister." Dean shrugged, snorting a brief laugh as he watched his brother flip a middle finger at him in response as he headed away.
Sam crossed the small, simple room and smiled in greeting as he reached the bar. The young bartender grabbed two bottles from the fridge and had them opened and set ready on the wooden bar before Sam arrived.
"You guys snowed in with us, huh?"
Glancing outside at the renewed blizzard blowing past the tall windows, Sam sighed loudly. "Sure looks that way." He took out his wallet and counted out some notes.
"Oh, have these on me."
"Seriously?" Sam smiled in delight. "Thanks, man."
The bartender shrugged modestly, "Well, if this winter is anything like last year, you could be stuck here for some time." He nodded towards the snow-covered car park lit up beside the bar. "Might as well be civil, huh?"
Sam nodded in agreement and thanked him again as he took the beers. He turned to head back across the pool table and paused as he stepped away from the bar.
The snowflakes were getting heavier and denser, beginning to obscure the view outside. He groaned quietly and his face tightened with worry; they needed to get back into town to research this latest case, and soon. It troubled him that they did indeed seem to be trapped for the time being.
"Hey? What's taking so long? You brewing the beer over there?"
Groaning and offering a quick smile of apology to the three other patrons huddled by the bar, Sam looked across at his brother and shook his head slowly.
"At last!" Dean moved away from the pool table to meet Sam and snatched his beer eagerly.
"You know, you could at least try to be less irritating." Sam suggested quietly, "We need to get along with these people if we're all waiting out the storm in here."
Dean chugged at his beer and glanced outside at the blizzard. "Aw, crap! Is it still snowing?" He shuddered dramatically and stepped past Sam to sink into a nearby chair.
Sam sat down opposite his brother and frowned in interest as he noticed movement outside in the snow. He watched for a moment as the figure hurried about in front of the motel, huddled against the cold. Barely aware of Dean's phone ringing, he then heard his brother greet the caller and turned back in intrigue.
"Yeah, Bobby, it's like a friggin' ice age or something, out here." Dean complained, "Where you at?"
Sam watched Dean listening and saw the frustration building on his brother's face.
"Shit, dude! Tomorrow?" Dean groaned, "Yeah, yeah. I hear you. I know it's not safe … but you'll head out at first light, yeah? We could use your wheels, man - and don't even think of making any smart-ass comments about my baby."
Sam watched Dean point a 'that means you, too' finger at him and raised his eyebrows in mock horror. His gaze then shifted back to the continued movement outside and he leaned closer to the window.
The door to the motel room adjacent to theirs was wide open, the woman hurrying in and out and back and forth. Sam peered through the snow and his heart suddenly leapt as he realized what she was doing.
His nose pressed against the cold glass, he watched in intrigue as she scooped cupfuls of grit from the bucket that Jeff had stored outside the motel. She scattered the sand and salt mixture across the threshold of the doorway and along the wall under the window. It didn't seem that she was clearing a pathway but instead ensuring a familiar line of protection.
"Okay, we'll see you tomorrow. Go careful." Dean signed off and tucked his phone back into his jeans pocket.
Sam was oblivious to the fact that his brother was talking to him and he gasped as he was gently kicked in the shin. Spinning round, he saw Dean's amused interest and watched as his brother followed his gaze out of the window.
"Aha … what have we here …?" Dean commented dryly, "New neighbor, huh? Nice spot, Sammy." He leaned forward and watched the woman for a moment. "You want me to go get her for you?"
Sam groaned softly, "I wasn't looking at her but …" he nodded towards the busy fussing across the car park. "More the fact that she's salt-lining."
Dean frowned in intrigue. "Huh. So she is."
They both watched in fascination for a moment and then saw the woman stop to answer her phone. Through the briefly thinning snowfall they saw her lean against the door frame and look around the car park worriedly.
"Think she's a hunter?" Sam thought aloud.
"She's hot." Dean said by way of a reply.
"Dude!" Sam protested and turned to his brother with a weary sigh.
"Oh, but - wo! - she comes with some serious baggage."
"What?" Sam saw the concern in Dean's fading smile and spun back to look out the window. He watched the woman arch her back and rub at the large round bulk of her pregnancy.
"You sure know how to pick them, little brother."
"Dean!" Sam barked in sudden anger. "I wasn't looking at her like that!"
Dean quickly held up his hands in defense. "Sorry, dude."
Shaking his head in quiet apology, Sam took a long drink from his bottle of beer and got to his feet. "I'm gonna go see if she needs any help. Coming?"
"What? It's like the Arctic out there." Dean answered, smiling thinly, "And I wouldn't want to cramp your style."
"Bite me." Sam chuckled and grabbed his coat.
ooooo
Keeping close to the front of the motel, sheltering from the renewed snowfall, Sam took his room key from his pocket and thought quickly. Reaching the door to their room, he paused and pretended to fiddle with the lock, listening to the woman's phone conversation.
She sounded tired, worried and was asking for more information from whoever she was talking with. Sam heard her heavy sigh of dismay and guessed she was not getting much help.
Opening the door and stepping inside, Sam could still hear her talking and hurried across to the partition door on the inside wall. He leaned close to the wood to listen and frowned in intrigue, hearing nothing of the clues that would suggest she was a hunter, but sensing only how she seemed completely terrified.
Deciding he needed to satisfy his curiosity, Sam took some quarters from his jeans pocket and headed back outside. The soda machine was on the far side of the motel and he smiled in greeting as he stepped past her.
"When can you get here?"
Sam dropped his coins slowly into the machine and took time choosing his drink.
"But you didn't see it, Em! It was horrible! And it was after Morgan."
Sam took his can from the machine and turned to watch the woman as she began to cry softly. Swallowing back the lump in his throat, he began back towards her and tried to think of the best way to approach.
"Okay. Okay." She wiped her face with her hand and took a deep breath. "Just hurry, Em. Please?"
Sam watched her drop her phone back into the pocket of her thick coat and turn towards the open room. He quickened his pace and took a deep breath. "You okay?"
She gasped slightly and spun at him.
"Sorry." Sam shrugged, smiling warmly, "I didn't mean to scare you." He watched her waiting warily inside her motel room and chanced moving closer to her. "What are you hiding from?"
Fear filled her face and she seemed lost for a second. "Wh-what?"
Sam nodded towards the lines of salt. "Pretty powerful stuff."
"I … um …"
"Look, it's okay." Sam stepped forward, watching her tired face and the way her dark eyes followed his every move with suspicion. "I know something about salt lines and stuff. I might be able to help."
"What?"
Sam halted beneath the shelter of the roof eaves and shrugged slightly. "What are you frightened of?" He saw renewed anxiety in her face and nodded in understanding. "Look, my name's Sam. I'm here with my brother and we - " He laughed suddenly, unsure which line to give her. "We kinda know about this stuff." He pointed towards the salt lines. "These will protect you from all sorts of nastiness. Especially demons. But … you know that, right?"
"No. I don't." She answered quietly, "But … it was my aunt's best guess. She told me to draw the lines."
"Your aunt?"
"She told me about this sort of thing." The young woman nodded and managed a thin smile before giving a slight shrug. "I always thought she was making it up. And now … " She pulled her coat closer round herself. "I sure wish she was."
"Mmm." Sam sighed loudly, "I know how you feel."
"It's cold out here." She shivered suddenly, "Come inside, Sam."
Sam saw her watching in interest as he stepped over the salt line that crossed the threshold. He could not help but smile as he noted her obvious relief.
"I'm Lena." She closed the door after them and moved across the room.
Watching her perch on the end of the large double bed, Sam then noticed the small form under the bedclothes and his heart sank.
"My daughter. Morgan." Lena explained, resting back on her arms with a heavy sigh. "We fled from home after we saw this ... 'thing'." She was lost for a moment in the memory and then shook her head gently. "Morgan exhausted herself crying." Lena gave a small laugh and wiped at her eyes. "I'm surprised I haven't already joined her in that."
Sam stared at Lena in confusion and horror, his heart thumping loudly in his ears. "You … you saw it?"
Lena nodded. "In Morgan's room." She shuddered, folding her arms tightly, "And in the car."
"What?" Sam gasped and stepped closer to her. "It followed you?"
Lena nodded slowly, her face suddenly tight with emotion.
"It's okay." Sam edged closer and placed his hand on her shoulder, smiling thinly. "That's actually a good thing."
"It is?"
Sam nodded, "We've been tracking this thing for days. Now we know where it is at last."
Lena sniffed back tears and looked up at Sam in confusion. "I'm sorry. You … you 'tracked' it…?"
"Yeah." Sam confirmed, his smile growing slightly. His face was troubled for a moment as he decided how to continue and then perched on the small threadbare chair opposite the bed. "My brother." He gave a small shrug and his smile returned. "He picked me up from uni and we were on our way home for thanksgiving. We kinda got caught here and then heard talk of the kids …" Sam gave a quiet sigh and shrugged his shoulders. "You can take the agent out of the bureau …"
Lena raised her eyebrows in interest. "Fed?"
Sam gave another shrug, "He's not on the case but … he just had to know more … y'know?"
"Yeah …" Lena agreed, looking down at the floor in thought.
"How much do you know?"
Lena laughed quietly, "Enough." She lifted her head to watch Sam for a moment. "So … how come you know about the salt voodoo?"
"Actually, it's not - " Sam stopped himself and laughed gently. "Call it a geek hobby." He offered, "That and … well … it's something of a family thing."
"You too, huh?" Lena smiled, "God … I honestly thought that all this time she was just telling me tall tales … demons, vampires, ghosts and all other kinds of crazy shit."
Sam could not hide his surprise and laughed gently. "Just who is this aunt of yours?"
"A crazy old woman who has an obsession with stinky herbs and medieval mumb-jumbo." Lena replied quietly, "Or so I've always thought …"
"Right." Sam smiled warmly.
"So … the kids." Lena shuddered at the thought, "You think it was her? The demon?"
"Her?" Sam echoed.
Lena nodded and swallowed back fresh tears. "A small girl. She looked lost at first but then … something changed …"
Sam watched her tremble slightly at the memory and leaned closer to Lena. "What else?"
"Morgan said she wanted to play." Lena turned and reached out a hand towards the gently sleeping form in the bed behind her. "She said she first saw her yesterday."
"And Morgan is okay? No rash, fever, flu-like symptoms?"
"Nothing." Lena replied quietly, "At least … not yet."
"Don't worry, we won't let anything happen to her." Sam assured calmly, his hands clenched in tight fists and his heart racing. "I promise."
- tbc -