Chapter Three: July 13, 2011

Sam woke, drenched in sweat. He stumbled down the hall to the bathroom, splashing cold water on his face. Every night for the past week, it was the same dream. Zoey was in danger, but was it real? He couldn't tell anymore. As he walked back to his bedroom, he heard whistling coming from the kitchen, in a tune that sounded vaguely like 'Enter Sandman' by Metallica. He frowned, going to investigate and, sure enough, Dean was mixing batter up and rocking his hips back and forth to the beat of the song in his head. "Pancakes?" Sam asked hopefully, his mouth remembering the sweet taste of Zoey's homemade pancakes.

Dean nodded, not turning around, although he did grow still. "You're up early."

"Can't sleep." Sam answered evasively, pouring himself a mug of coffee. He downed it, not bothering to add sugar this morning.

"Nightmare again?"

"Same one." He sighed, jumping when his phone rang. For a brief second, he thought it was Zoey calling him, but he didn't recognize the number. "Sam."

"Oh, thank god. I was hoping Nicole typed in the right number." A male voice, strangely familiar to him, replied. "Look, you gotta come to Salem ASAP, Sam."

It finally clicked. "Connor? What's wrong?"

"Zoey. She's been missing for about three days now."

Dean shot him a questioning look but Sam held his hand up. "I'll leave right now. Are you going to be at the house?"

"If I'm not at the apothecary, yes. Thank you, Sam."

"What's going on?" Dean asked as Sam clicked the end button on his phone and started back toward his bedroom.

"Zoey's missing." Sam called, throwing clothes in his bag. "I'm leaving, Dean."

"Hold on." Dean blocked his way to the front door. "She dumped you."

"Yeah, so?" Sam sighed. "Look Dean, I love her, okay, and if she's in trouble, I'm not just going to sit on my ass. I'll call you when I get there."

"Don't do anything stupid, Sam." Dean yelled as Sam got into his Charger and drove off.

After buying a half dozen doughnuts and another cup of coffee, Sam set out on the fifteen hundred mile, twenty-five hour drive. He had no plans to stop and sleep until he saw Salem's lights. However, exhaustion kicked in sixteen hours later and he pulled over in Pennsylvania, sleeping in the car. A knock on the window startled him awake a few hours later and he saw a cop peering in. He groaned, but rolled down the window. "Everything alright, son?" The cop asked.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I was about to fall asleep at the wheel and I didn't want to cause a wreck, so I pulled over." Sam apologized as his stomach growled.

"Thank you for being responsible. I was just making sure you weren't dead." The cop chuckled. "Have a good day, sir."

Sam smiled politely, started the car, and resumed his drive. He'd been asleep for five hours and he frowned. If Zoey was kidnapped, he'd tear Salem apart looking for her, even though they parted on bad terms. Finally, six hours later, he slowed down as he came into Salem city limits. He turned off the main highway and headed to the large, castle-like Victorian house overlooking the city, pulling into the winding driveway behind her emerald green Corvette. "I keep forgetting you just can't poof and be here." Connor joked. "I'm glad you're finally here."

"Yeah." Sam shook the blind wizard's hand. "So, what exactly is going on?"

"I wish I could tell you more, but Nicole's inside. She's left the store exactly the way she found it."

Sam swung open the door, letting Connor use his elbow to guide him inside. "Hey, Nicole." Sam greeted Zoey's best girlfriend as Connor shut the door with his foot.

"Don't you even talk to me, Sam Winchester." The plump brunette witch snarled. "What the hell did you call him for, Connor?"

"Because, unlike you and my sister, I don't think Sam would have said those horrible things to her. He's here, isn't he? If he really wanted her to leave, he would've told me he was busy or something." Connor stated simply.

"Whoa, what did I or whoever it was, tell Zoey?" Sam asked, sitting down on the couch. "Look, Nicole, I swear I would have never made her leave. I love Zoey."

Nicole narrowed her eyes at him. "Sure."

"Apparently, after she told you she was a witch, you were kind of standoffish for a few days." Sam nodded sheepishly, about to speak in his defense, but Connor continued. "So, when you guys got back to the hotel, she asked you if you had a problem with it and you blew up in her face and said if you'd known what she was, you would've killed her, not screwed her."

"Got anything to say to that, you dumb moose?"

"Actually, yes. I was standoffish after I found out, but every single witch Dean and I ever ran across was evil, case in point: Alexander Bloodworth. However, I did a little research to, er, make sure she was lying to me about being born that way and I found out she wasn't. So, I apologized to her. Zoey's one of the sweetest women I've ever met, witch or not, and she's put up with a lot from me."

"He's not lying, Nicole. Give it up." Connor warned. "Now, let him go look at the store. He's a hunter. Maybe we missed something."

Nicole grudgingly held out her key to Sam. "Lock up when you're done."

"Of course." The apothecary was Zoey's way of connecting to her mom and Sam wouldn't mess that up for anything.

The smell of sulfur was strong enough to make Sam gag when he unlocked the door and stepped inside. Scorch marks and water damage to some of the inventory suggested to Sam that a fight ensued and the small blood pools indicated an injury. The air was still charged with magic, making the hair on his arms prickle; Zoey and another equally powerful witch or wizard was here. The only thing that didn't make sense to Sam was the sulfur. A mere demon, no matter how powerful, couldn't catch the weakest witch unaware. He frowned, surveying the store. Something was wrong but he couldn't figure out what it was. He needed help, and he knew just who to ask.