This chapter is a little bit longer than the others because I can't find a suitable place to end it. Ugh, research but somebody is going to be making a guest appearance in this episode. Enjoy! :)

We find the local library and ask for old news and local myths. I scour the shelves for books on local history while Dean and Sam get the newspaper archives. We find a table large enough for us and I lay down the tall stack of books I found. We read through everything thoroughly but cannot find anything. It is past noon and I start to feel a bit strained. I get a mild headache that intensifies and I clutch my head in my hands. A familiar white flash blinds me before I come back to my senses.

"Pierce?" Dean asks when he and Sam notice my strange behavior. "Are you okay?"

I look at him and nod distractedly, "I'm fine. I just need to get some coffee."

He nods tentatively, "Okay." I turn to leave but he stops me. "Wait," he hands me the silver pistol I used yesterday, "just to be safe."

I raise an eyebrow. "I'm just going to the vending machine outside," I say.

"Yeah, the last time we left you alone, you were kidnapped by the king of hell," he makes a point. "It's for safety reasons. If someone jumps you, shoot first and ask questions later."

I take the gun and pocket it before anyone else sees it. Feeling a bit foolish to be carrying a gun just to get a drink, I walk off. Outside the large wooden doors of the library, there is a vending machine selling canned drinks in the reception. Fishing out my wallet, I make my choice of drink and feed a dollar note into the machine. As I turn around with my can of cold coffee in hand, I nearly go head first into someone. I apologize and look up at the rather tall person. He looks vaguely familiar, but I can't seem to pin point where I've seen him before.

"Hey, you're the new girl, right?" He asks.

I look into his crystal blue eyes and say, "Yeah, I guess." Who is this creepy dude?

"You really don't remember me?" He chuckles. "I thought we had a thing going on that time. I saw you with the two guys following Mr. Fizzy around yesterday."

"Uh," I hesitate. My tongue seems to have gone to lead and my throat is dry. I take a sip from my can of coffee.

He sticks out his hand, "I'm Brendon. What's your name?"

"Pierce," I answer, shaking his hand.

"Great, now we know each other," he smiles, showing his white teeth. "How come I never see you around town?"

"My family and I move around a lot," I say. "It's my dad's work. He needs to travel."

"Ah, I see," Brendon says. "You know, you seem to steal the spotlight rather easily. Ever since you came yesterday, there were rumours about 'the new girl'. Word in the hall is that you'll be starting school here. When are you starting, anyway?"

"After the summer," I answer. Truth is, I won't be starting anything anytime soon and neither do I want to.

"Great," Brendon says. "You can come hang out with me and my gang and I'll show you the ropes then."

"Thanks," I say. For someone who was complemented by the king of hell for having a sharp tongue, I sure don't have a tongue now.

"A pretty little exotic thing like you is bound to catch a lot of attention. I just don't want you to get lost or anything." He smiles down at me flirtatiously. "Also I want to be the first one to get to know the pretty new girl."

Ok, so I think I'm being hit on. This is weird. Back home, everyone ignores me. I'm no beauty queen, no sight for sore eyes. This attention is pleasant but pressurizing at the same time. I laugh at his cheeky attempts. "Okay," I mumble meekly.

"So," he starts awkwardly, "You came with your, uh, dads?"

My suspicions were true, the school did think that Dean and Sam are gay. I chuckle softly and shake my head. "No, they're brothers," I explain.

"Oh sorry for asking, that was really uncomfortable," he chuckles. "There are a lot of rumours flying around. I just wanted to make sure."

"It's okay," I brush off the odd question as best as I could with my leaden tongue and dry throat. "But you're okay with gay people?"

Brendon shrugs, "The world is changing. There will be more gays than straight people, soon."

I chuckle before realizing the golden opportunity I have been given. Summoning up the courage to speak, I force my vocal chords to work. "I've been reading the papers, there seems to have a few people gone missing in the school. Do you know anything about them?"

He shrugs, "The authorities say it's just that the students decided to run off on their own. That's it. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know, I'm just nosy," I say, trying a wry smile.

"Every school has its own myths and legends," Brendon sighs. "Ours is really stupid. It's just something to scare the freshmen."

"Really?" I ask, leaning against the pillar opposite the vending machine and trying to look laid back.

"Yeah, they say there is this hidden passage way that if you go into something will kill you and use you as skeleton displays for the biology lab," Brendon says. "It's really stupid, actually. The school doesn't have hidden passages, the most secretive thing there is the old door they closed up after renovating the place twenty years ago or something. You don't believe ghost stories, do you?"

I shrug. I have heard legitimate lore and stories about ghosts, pagan gods and more but I also have heard enough sham. Like that time Dean crushed my hopes and dreams by telling me that there are no such things as unicorns and dragons or even Bigfoot. I walked around like a deflated balloon for the rest of the day then.

There is a silence after I shrugged before Brendon asks me, "Do you want to go for a walk or something? The weather is great outside."

I was thinking of an answer but before I could answer, Dean bursts out of the door looking for me. He sees me and raises an eyebrow. He gestures for me to come in. I nod to acknowledge him before turning back to Brendon.

"I'm sorry, I have to go," I tell Brendon as I walk backwards toward Dean.

"It's fine," he says. "So I'll see you around? Maybe next time I can get you to talk more," he gives me a slanted smile.

"Yeah, okay," I manage before breaking into a jog to get back to Dean and return to people who I can talk to. He looks at me with concern written all over his face. The concern is stern and almost father-like. I have seen that expression in my father's eyes before when I get home from school after he does sometimes.

"I'm fine, Dean," I sigh. "No one tried to attack me. I was just talking to Brendon."

"He's that guy you were looking at last night, right? So you got a name now," Dean says looking at Brendon, who is walking away. "Nice to know," he mutters. "Get back inside. We still have a lot to cover."

I follow him in and sit down to drink my coffee which I have been holding onto for so long and have only taken a sip of. They continue to search through the old newspapers for more missing students. So far, they haven't got much.

I take a deep breath before interrupting their search. "Brendon told me something about the skeleton thing," I announce. Sam and Dean look up from their research.

"Who's Brendon?" Sam asks.

"Some pretty blond boy she found in the school yesterday," Dean says. He looks at me teasingly and I ignore his remarks. "What did he say?"

"There is a legend going around in the school that there is a hidden passage in the school," I start. "He says that whoever goes in would be taken and used as skeleton displays in the labs. Sounds uncanny, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does and today's news headline is a group of students reported missing by their parents," Sam reports. He shows us the photos of the three teenagers on the newspaper, "Their parents said that they must have sneaked out during the night. Do you think they're the ones we saw last night?"

"Maybe," I acknowledge. "Hopefully not but it seems like it. So they're dead, fancy telling their parents that."

"Good idea," Dean says.

"Tell them their children are dead?" Sam asks incredulously. "That's not a good idea."

"No, I mean we should ask their parents about them," Dean says. "Find out more about them. Let's go."

We make a copy of everything interesting they have found and return the originals before stuffing our bags full with notes and news reports. Sam manages to find the addresses of the missing students and we head off to the first house of three.

By late evening, we have finished with the questions and got nothing from the answers the parents have given. Giving up, we head to a diner for some food and drinks then back to the motel to finish the rest of our researching. I shower and freshen up before getting back to business. I count the hours since I last slept, which was yesterday evening. I have been awake for more than 24 hours now and I think it's taking its toll on me. I can't fight the yawns that escape as I shuffle through the information.

I take a turn at the laptop and search everything that comes to mind. Finally something catches my eye and I open the link to an old article. Beside the article are scary looking photos of a man, the victim and the crime scene.

It reads: "A professor is killed by his student in his office one night. The student was hurt, believed to have been in a fight with the professor before killing him. The student claims that the professor has been trying to kill students for tests and he was only acting in self-defense. The remains of the professor have been buried in Angel Cemetery."

"Hey, Dean?" I ask. "You know the ghost you saw last night?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Did it look like this guy?" I turn the screen around to show them the photo of professor.

A look of recognition sparks on both their faces. Dean asks about the photo and I tell them about the professor and his sick practices. It happened at the very same location back in the early 1900's. Since then, the crime scene has been closed up and forbidden.

"So we go and torch the bones and we're through," Dean says. "Come. Let's go while it's still dark."

We find the cemetery outside of town and we drive there. On the way, we drive past the school and I spot someone sneaking into the school. I squint in the dark light and see that it's Brendon. He looks scared and cautious as he breaks in.

"What's he doing there?" Dean mutters, seeing Brendon as well. "Hey, it's that boy of yours."

I ignore the last sentence and we park at one side to see what he is doing. He enters the building and turns on a small torch light he is holding. By the looks of things, he is going in unarmed and only with the clothes on his back.

I look to Dean, "Do you think we should follow him?"

He nods, "We probably should. Sammy, you deal with the bones. Pierce and I will see that that boy comes back out safe."

I check the silver pistol Dean gave me for bullets before pocketing it again. Dean gives me a sawn off shot gun from the trunk.

"Pistols don't work on spirits, you know that," Dean says.

I take the shotgun and hide it under the plaid shirt I now wear as a second layer. With so many things to keep in our pockets, I understand why they would wear at least two layers even under the sweltering sun. I take more rock salt bullets from Dean and we head into the school with only a duffel full of equipment. Sam drives off to the cemetery by himself in the Impala.

We walk to the hidden room just in time to see Brendon disappear behind it. We follow and track him down to where the dead end is. We hide from him and observe his movements. He looks lost and wary. Why is he here? Why is he alone? How do you even come in here unarmed?

He sees the door at the end and pushes it open gently. He shines a light into the room before walking in. Dean signals me and we get behind the door. I peek in to see Brendon exploring the place with its rusty tables and bones hanging by the corner. He notices the skeletons on their stands and studies them. I feel myself want to shout out to him because of the danger he is putting himself into.

He turns around sharply and I pull my head back to my hiding spot. "Hello?" He calls out as people in horror movies do. "Is anybody there?"

I roll my eyes at the stupidity of that action. Dean warns me to stay alert and I turn back to listen in on what's going on. I hear a gasp and the sound of something dropping. It must've been Brendon's torchlight as the room is now in total darkness. Dean braces himself to run in and I follow suit.

The loud yell for help is our cue and we run in. The gruesome looking ghost is standing above Brendon who is cowering on the ground. Dean shoots it and it disappears like mist. Making sure the place is safe, we check on Brendon who is shaking and breathing very hard.

"Pierce, is that you?" He pants. "What are you doing here?"

"It's okay, we're going to get you out of here," I tell him. "Are you hurt?"

"No, but what's going on?" Brendon looks at me but I don't answer.

"There's a vengeful ghost on the loose and you just walked right into its nest," Dean answers instead. "What were you thinking? Coming here on your own? Don't you know your own local lore?"

"Yeah, well I don't know," Brendon defends. "It's just that my friends went missing today and they told me that they were coming here last night. I just wanted to look for them."

"They're dead," Dean states simply. "Let's just get out," he says but is interrupted by a phone call. He picks it up and says, "You got the job done yet?"

I conclude that the caller is Sam. I watch Dean pace around as I kneel beside Brendon who is still struggling to find his bearings. Dean scowls after a few lines from the other side of the line.

"What do you mean it's not there? We're looking for a dead body, where can it possibly go?" He sighs. "Okay, fine, just come back to the school. We'll figure it out later." He looks at us and says unnecessarily, "The body's not in the grave. It's been dug out and taken from its casket."

"Where can it be?" I ask. "Why would anybody take him out?"

"I don't know, but we better keep a look out in case he comes back," Dean says before pacing a full circle around us.

I get up and look around with the shotgun aimed beside my torch. The place seems quiet and something is wrong. I look to the corner where the skeletons are. There seems to be something odd but I can't put my finger on it.

"Dean, how many skeletons are there supposed to be here?" I gulp.

"Three," he answers. "One for each of his friends. Why?"

"There are four here now," I whisper faintly.

Dean swears and stands in front of me with his gun ready. He turns his head to me and instructs, "Get him and yourself out of here as fast as you can."

I get Brendon off the floor and drag him out of the room. "What about you?" I ask.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," he says. "Just go, get out of the building if you can."

I take Brendon by the arm and lead him out of the room and down the creepy hallway. I break into a run and Brendon yells again. I turn back to see the ghost right behind us, jumping towards us ad getting closer and closer by the second. I push Brendon behind me and shoot the thing, it disappears and we continue running. Finally we make it out into the larger, less haunted hallways.

"Pierce, wait," Brendon pants, "what's going on? Who are you people? Did you just call your Dad by name?"

I look at him sadly, "Most myths and legends are actually true. It's our job to find the harmful ones and kill them. No, Dean's is not my dad but he and his brother are the closest thing I have to family. Now there is an angry ghost on the loose and it apparently likes to keep skeletons. Why are you here?"

"I told you," he says. "I just lost my friends and I want to go find them. I can't live with the guilt that I'm left here alone just because I decided to stay in and watch soccer one night. It's a horrible feeling, losing friends."

"I know," I say simply. "But you have to face the truth. They're gone."

He looks down at the ground. "I know," he breathes.

"I'm sorry." I can't think of anything else to say.

Fighting noises and gunshots come from the haunted place. I hear Dean struggle inside with whatever he's facing. He doesn't seem to be winning and I start to worry. I look Brendon in the eye. "Look, I want you to get out of this place," I instruct. "Go home, you hear me?"

"What are you going to do?" Brendon asks.

"Dean's in trouble," I mutter as I load my shotgun. It clicks and I say, "I'm going in to help him."

"You can't do that!" Brendon exclaims. "It's not safe in there."

"Yes, I can," I fight back. "And that's exactly why I'm going in."

"Let me go with you," he offers.

"No," I turn down firmly. "Go home."

"I can't handle if you got hurt inside there," Brendon says. "I have enough guilt as it is."

I turn to him and say, "There are things you should know about me: I may look small and fragile but I'm no damsel in distress."

I run back down the corridor and into the room. Dean is kneeling beside a wall that has a gaping hole in it. The ghost is pulling him away but he is holding on and fighting back. His gun is strewn to one side, marking him as helpless.

"Leave him alone," I shout before shooting.

The ghost flails and disappears once more into smoke. I turn to Dean who looks relieved to be saved. I look at the hole in the wall. There lay a rotting corpse that bears resemblance to the ghost. I look to Dean again and he gives an expression that confirms the identity of the corpse.

"You don't happen to have any more rounds, do you?" He asks when he gets his breath back. I pass my last two to him. "Thanks. We just ran out of salt."

He breaks open the bullets and sprinkles the salt all over the body. He finds some flammable fluid and dumps it onto the body. He lights up the body and we watch it burn for a while. When the body is almost ashes, we walk out of the god forsaken place.

"Isn't the smoke alarms going to go off?" I ask, looking at the smoke that is slowly travelling out the building.

"It probably is," Dean agrees. "We should get out before the cops come. Thanks for saving me back there, by the way."

"No problem," I shrug. "You'd probably owe me something later on."

He chuckles and gives me a one armed squeeze. We walk out where Sam and Brendon are waiting for us. Both of them have concern written on their faces.

"What about the body?" Sam asks.

"I found it in the walls," Dean answers. "We torched it already."

Sam nods with relief. "Okay."

"This means we can leave town," Dean announces. "Do you want us to give you a ride home, Brendon?"

"Yeah, thanks," Brendon nods. "I think school will be cancelled for the day, with the fire alarm and everything."

Sam and Dean get in the car and it's just me and Brendon. He takes a deep breath before talking.

"So you're leaving?" He asks.

I nod.

"Okay," he mutters, "alright. I honestly thought that you would start school and then we can hang out together or something. You're a stunning girl, really. I would really like to have asked you out."

I smile sadly, "I'm so sorry. I wish things were different."

"You sure we can't make things work?" He tries hopefully.

I shake my head, "I'm not one for long distance relationships."

"Okay," he accepts before getting into the car.

We drive him home and he gets out. He bends down to thank us for the ride. Giving me one last, long look, he turns around and walk up the front yard and into the house. I wave to him as Dean starts the car again.

"Brace yourself," Dean says. "Every other relationship is going to be like that from here on out."

Yes, Dean telling Pierce about the rough relationships ahead is a rather melancholy thing to write but it is something he would say (maybe in subtext). The relationship thing just serves to shed some light on the lonely life on the road. But they have family, which I find is lucky of them. The Winchester may have shitty luck on everything else but their bond is one thing everybody envies.