Disclaimer- I do not own Supernatural or any of its characters.

Chapter 28 is up!

So, Scarecrow it is! Don't mind the tiny chick-flick thing I added in there, because Sam was really insensitive with the whole "how the hell would you know how I feel' thing, so I think I'm entitled.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! :D

On with it, shall we?

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT- GLORIFIED MURDER

The rough voice grew sharper.

"Yeah, this is John Winchester. Who the hell are you?"

I glanced frantically around. "Um, I'm Odette. Dean and Sam sorta….. rescued me, I guess. I'm with them at present."

Brilliant, my mind hissed.

"Give the phone to Dean." John's voice was eerily emotionless.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," I shook Dean, who groaned and tried to punch my arm aside.'

"One more thing," John added. "What's after to you so badly that the boys had to bail you out?"

"Demons," I whispered.

There was dead silence at the other end of the line.

~Supernatural~

"Alright, so, the names Dad gave us, they're all couples?"

"Three different couples. All went missing," Dean answered.

"And they're all from different towns? Different states?" Sam cocked an eyebrow.

"That's right. You got Washington, New York, Colorado. Each couple took a road-trip cross-country. None of them reached their destination, and none of them were ever heard from again."

"Well, it's a big country, Dean. They could've disappeared anywhere."

Sam's voice was unhappy, and I had a bad feeling about this.

Apparently, Dean didn't notice. "Yeah, could've. But each one's route took 'em to the same part of Indiana. Always on the second week of April. One year after another after another."

"This is the second week of April," Sam narrowed his eyes.

"Yep," Dean nodded.

"So, Dad is sending us to Indiana to go hunting for something before another couple vanishes?" Sam's frustration was thinly concealed.

I twitched uneasily.

"Yahtzee. Can you imagine putting together a pattern like this? All the different obits Dad had to go through? The man's a master."

Sam pulled the car over, lips pursed.

"What are you doing?" Dean demanded.

"We're not going to Indiana."

"We're not?" Dean's eyebrow climbed upwards.

"No. We're going to California. Dad called from a payphone. Sacramento area code."

"Sam." Dean pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Dean, if this demon killed Mom and Jess, and Dad's closing in, we've gotta be there. We've gotta help."

"Dad doesn't want our help," Dean forced out.

"I don't care." Sam's voice was absolute.

"He's given us an order," Dean's tone was getting angrier.

"I don't care," Sam said firmly. "We don't always have to do what he says."

He tried to reason with him. "Sam, Dad is asking us to work jobs, to save lives, it's important."

"Alright, I understand, believe me, I understand." Sam turned to pleading. "But I'm talking one week here, man, to get answers. To get revenge."

"Alright, look, I know how you feel."

Dean was taken aback by the ferocity of Sam's answer.

"Do you? How old were you when Mom died? Four? Jess died six months ago. How the hell would you know how I feel?"

Dean's eyes narrowed to slits.

Sam had finally gone too far.

"Yeah, I know damn well how you feel, Sam! You think I wanted this? You think I wanted to hunt every damn thing that any normal person would've run away from? Don't you dare tell me I don't know how you feel! You lost your girlfriend, Sam. I lost my life."

Sam sucked in a breath. I stared at Dean in shock, he'd never said so much in one go, and I wished I could comfort him.

"Dean, I-"

"Just shut up, Sam!" Dean got out of the car, and I followed, watching as Sam unloaded his backpack.

"You're a selfish bastard, you know that? You just do whatever you want. Don't care what anybody thinks."

"That's what you really think?"

"Yes, it is." Dean glared at him, and I shifted from foot to foot, trying to think of a way to defuse the situation.

"Well, then this selfish bastard is going to California." Sam slung his duffle over his shoulder, turning on his heel.

I moved forward hesitantly.

Sam guessed what I was thinking. "Stay with Dean, Odette. It's not safe for you with me."

Dean watched him. "I will leave your ass here, you hear me?"

Sam looked back. "That's what I want you to do."

They stared at each other a minute.

Stalemate.

Dean pulled me back into the Impala.

"Goodbye, Sam."

We drove off into the night.

Glancing at Dean's taut features, I sighed.

Stay with Dean.

Of course.

~Supernatural~

"So, lemme guess," Dean gestured at the sign on the door. "Scotty, right?"

The old man followed his gaze. "Yep."

"Hi, my name's John Bonham."

I smiled at that.

Scotty raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that the drummer for Led Zeppelin?"

My smile grew wider.

Dean paused, stumped. "Wow. Good. Classic rock fan."

"So, what can I do for you, John?" Scotty looked expectantly at us.

Dean pulled out the flyers for Holly and Vince Parker.

"I was wondering if you'd uh.. seen these people by any chance."

He gave it a cursory look. "Nope. Who are they?"

"Friends of mine," Dean waved the pictures around. "Went missing about a year ago. Already checked in Scottsburg and Salem, so…."

"Sorry," Scotty's tone implied anything but. "We don't get many strangers around here."

Dean nodded.

"Scotty, you've got a smile that lights up a room, you know that?"

Both Scotty and I eyed Dean oddly.

He chuckled. "Never mind. See you around."

~Supernatural~

I glanced outside the car, bored.

I missed Sam.

"Why does your fondness for them bother you?"

I stared at the passenger seat. "Hello, Castiel."

He waited for my answer.

"I'm worried, Castiel. I fit into this life too easily."

He regarded me impassively.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Castiel nodded. "If it is in my power to answer."

"Why do you only show yourself to me?"

He pinned me with his eyes. "Because you trust me more than they do."

~Supernatural~

We were driving back from the general store, when Dean's bag started vibrating next to me.

"What the hell?"

Dean stopped the car, pulling out the EMF meter.

It beeped frantically.

~Supernatural~

I shivered as I stared at the scarecrow. "Dean," I called, my voice shakier than usual.

It felt wrong.

"What?" Dean said irritably, then stopped as he saw the scarecrow.

He surveyed it for a long moment.

"Dude, you fugly." He said simply.

I started laughing.

Dean glared at me, but for the first time, there was no heat in his gaze.

~Supernatural~

We stopped at the gas station.

"You're back," the girl from the store greeted us. Emily.

"Never left," Dean said.

"Still looking for your friends?" Emily sounded sympathetic.

We nodded.

Dean saw the red car in the corner. "That your aunt and uncle's?"

"No, a customer. Car trouble."

Emily smiled at him.

"Not a couple, were they?"

She looked at him strangely. "Yeah, yeah they were. How did you know that?"

~Supernatural~

Dean cursed.

I stayed as close to him as I dared.

The woods were dark.

Nighttime.

"Where're the two?" Dean asked.

I swallowed noisily. "Up ahead."

Something creaked in the clearing.

Dean pushed me behind him, and walked forward stealthily.

The terrified couple confronted us, when we heard a stick snap.

The scarecrow climbed off its cross.