(An: Hey guys. This is the last full chapter of this story. After this chapter, there is going to be a small epilogue, and then I will start typing up the sequel, which I will post under the name 'Madworld'. So enjoy the last full chapter.)

Chapter 8

They didn't hear from, or about, Ali for two months. It got almost to the point that Sam could forget about her sometimes, and maybe even go a whole day without that damned pang that started in his chest but took him over in a matter of seconds.

Ali, too, was trying to forget. She was doing a considerably better than Sam, however, because while she blamed herself for being stupid enough to fall for him, she also blamed Sam for hurting her (Sam only blamed himself.).

She was working on a case involving a rogue spirit when they ran into her completely by accident.

When they got there, the officer told them another FBI agent was already there, surveying the crime scene.

Sam and Dean shared a glance as they walked onto the scene. Their attention was drawn to the agent kneeling next to a corpse that was covered with a white cloth.

Sam stopped when he recognized her. He watched her silently, trying to control the galloping beat of his heart and the wild churning of his stomach.

Dean frowned. "Sam, we've got work to do. Just bluff your way through it like always. We've got Garth working the phones today."

"Dean... That isn't an agent... That's Ali... Alyssa." I hurt to remember the harsh tone she had turned on him because he couldn't say three stupid little words.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Agent Smith, we've got work to do. You two can have your little reunion fight later."

Sam nodded. "You're right, Agent Jones."

They turned to go and talk to Ali, only to find that she was already standing behind them.

"You agents can move on." She growled as she glared at them. "I've got this handled." Her voice was cold and free of any emotions.

Sam's stomach twisted. "Ali... Alyssa... We can help."

She turned her cold gaze to him and shook her head. "No. No you can't. I don't need your help." She glanced at a nearby officer before looking back at them. "Call the district office and get yourselves reassigned." She controlled her emotions on the surface, but on the inside they heaved and jumbled. She was angry, and upset, and something she couldn't quite identify.

Sam on the other hand looked like he was in physical pain. She almost felt sorry for him. Almost. But she couldn't drop her guard. Not again.

Dean rolled his eyes. "You two stow your crap. We're working this case together. Like professionals. You two can go back to ignoring each other. Even though this whole thing is making both of you miserable."

Sam didn't say anything, but Ali rolled her eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Dean."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever let's just work."

Ali nodded. "Fine, that I can agree with." She turned on her heel and went to talk to the police chief.

Dean shook his head and looked at Sam. "Why the hell didn't you say anything?"

"Because if I said anything it have only pissed her off... More."

"Sam, just man up already."

"Dean, stop it. Let's just get to work." Sam muttered as he did just that.

Dean shook his head and followed Sam. He wished that Sam and Ali would just admit that they wanted each other. Sam's moping had almost gotten them killed a few times in the past couple of weeks alone. If they didn't admit it soon Sam's emotions were going to distract him enough to get them killed.

Ali kept her features calm as she tried to focus on the case, but she couldn't keep her mind from drifting to Sam. Every time she noticed her mind wandering to him she scowled. No. She had spent the last two months putting up her walls. She couldn't just let a few moments a few feet away from him tear down her defenses. She just needed to stay away from him, and she definitely couldn't be alone with him. She scowled again and forced herself to focus.

Sam walked up to her and kneeled. "I've got a lead. Come on. Dean's going to stay here and keep looking. You take your car and I'll take the Impala."

She glanced over at him. "How the hell could you have a lead already?"

He held up a piece of paper with a list of names and phone numbers.

"Head start."

Just then, one of the police officers wandered over.

"Agent Ryan, can I have a word please?" He asked, and Ali couldn't have asked for better timing. She smiled graciously at the man. (Rhodes was it? She thought it was Rhodes.)

They walked away from Sam who looked the tiniest bit confused but walked over to Dean without interfering.

"I know what you are." Rhodes said as soon as they were away from everyone else. They kept walking.

"And what would that be?"

"You're a hunter. So are they. And before you deny it, I've dealt with hunters before- I know one when I see one."

"Oh?"

"My brother was a hunter."

"Congratulations on avoiding the family business."

Rhodes chuckled. "Something like that. I want to know what we're up against."

"I don't know yet."

He pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it.

"Let me know when you figure it out." He said handing it out to her. "And if you need anything- access to evidence, lists of victims, anything at all- call me."

She smiled. "I will."

The cops she worked with often approached her to give her their numbers, but none of them ever called her out on being a hunter. Rhodes was... Different.

She hoped that was a good thing.

When she returned, Sam was gone, and so was Dean, so she left to go to her motel room several blocks away. Once she got there, she texted Dean (she still knew their numbers).

What lead do you have?

He responded a moment later.

Alyssa?

She sighed, the tiniest bit frustrated. Yes.

The chick died from spider bites.

She knew that.

What about that list of addresses Sam had?

What list? Dean responded.

He said he had a lead. It was a list of names and addresses.

Oh. People that fit the usual pattern the thing takes, but, if it follows it's usual M.O., we should have a couple of Days to figure out how to gank the thing.

She sighed with relief. That meant that she could spare a couple of hours to take a shower and eat something... But she knew she would feel guilty if she didn't work while she ate. Maybe if she called Rhodes they could get dinner and talk about the case.

She smiled at the thought. Rhodes was different. He could actually help... And he knew she was a hunter. No cop had ever called her out like that. She liked it.

Before she could find some reason to convince herself otherwise, she retrieved the scrap of paper from her pocket and dialed.

He answered on the second ring.

"Rhodes."

"Hello. This is Agent Ryan."

There was a brief chuckled on the other end of the line.

"Hello, whatever your real name is."

She rolled her eyes. "Alyssa. Alyssa Fenton."

"Alyssa. What can I do you for?"

"I'm going to dinner, but my mind is focused on the case. Do you want to go with me so that we can discuss?"

"Of course. Did you have anywhere particular in mind?"

"Not really. I've never been here before- I don't know my way around."

"There's a diner on Main Street. You can't miss it."

"What's the name?"

"It's the only diner in town. When do you want to meet?"

She glanced at the clock. She still needed to shower.

"In about an hour." She said finally.

"Great. See you then."

She hung up and sighed, a smile playing across her lips.

An hour later, she walked into the diner, a little place called The Shack, and spotted him at the furthest booth. He was nursing a cup of coffee with his back to her.

She walked up slowly and silently. She tapped him lightly on the back. "Hey." She said as she walked around and sat down in front of him.

He smiled. "Hey, Alyssa"

She tilted her head. "You're the first person to actually call me Alyssa without just assuming that they could call me Ali."

"I find it better to ask... Especially when dealing with hunters. It's not a good idea to piss them off."

She smiled. "You're not going to piss me off. You can call me Ali... I don't mind."

He nodded. "Alright, Ali. I hope you don't mind, but I was hungry so I ordered for both of us. Nothing fancy. Just a couple of burgers... And a bowl of yogurt."

"Yogurt?"

He nodded "A guilty pleasure of mine."

"Would you mind sharing with me?"

He looked surprised. "Not at all. It's huckleberry though."

"Oh, that's fine. So long as it isn't strawberry. I'm not particularly fond of them anymore."

He raised an eyebrow, but didn't question her. "Me either."

Just then, the food in question came. They thanked the waitress and set to work. Rhodes produced a thick file and set it on the table.

"That big file for a one day-old death?" She asked before taking a bite of her burger.

"Not one death." He responded, confusing her. "Six. All in the past two months. I think they're connected." He opened the file and set a paper clipped group of papers in front of her.

"Kennedy Greyson, today's victim. Died from several spider bites, but not a single spider was found anywhere near her, or in her home. Allison Morgan, Death by garage door. She was six." He passed another two files over. "Jerry Clark, killed when his own truck ran him over in his garage. He died trying to save his son, Richard. He didn't succeed. Matthew Wexon, skinned alive from what the evidence suggested." Now, he just handed her the whole file.

"That's only five." Ali said, looking through them. She stopped when she saw the last name.

Mandy Rhodes.

"Oh," She said softly. "I see."

The resemblance was there alright. Mandy's picture showed a girl in her twenties, with long wavy brown hair and stunning blue eyes. The same blue eyes that complimented Rhodes himself, and the same pale skin, smile, and freckles.

"She was my sister, and she was found dead in the basement of our old house. No viable cause that anyone could find- she was a normal, strong, healthy, girl. She was terrified of that basement- had been since we were kids. Said something was down there..." He trailed off. "I always laughed at her..."

Impulsively, Ali reached out and put her hand over his. He looked up, almost grateful. It was... Different. A man showing his emotions so freely, telling her all this when the file was there and easier.

"So, I looked into it. Kennedy's worst fear was spiders, according to her mother. Allison would hardly ever go through the garage- her brother told me she was scared the door would come down and hurt her. Jerry Clark's son, Richard, had an obsessive fear of being hit by a truck. Matthew ran across some pictures of someone who had been supposedly skinned alive, and had been afraid of the same fate ever since. And they all lived on the same street."

"What street?"

"Maple?"

"You're not serious? That's like Elm Street, but on a slightly lesser scale."

"Monsters on Maple. I know."

"We ought to check it out you know." Ali said softly, almost hesitantly- she didn't want him to think she was completely heartless.

"I know. But let's at least finish eating, okay?"

He offered her a small smile, one that she gratefully returned.

:We can do that, I think." She agreed and they talked while they ate. They talked about things that weren't dead loved ones or emotional triggers.

He told her his first name was Kyle, and about working on the force, and life in town. He was a secret drama buff, he confessed, and often went to the town's small theater to watch the plays they put on there and asked if she'd like to see one with him someday.

She decided in seconds that she would.

When they were eating the yogurt he flung a spoonful onto her cheek and she let out an amused little gasp, retaliating by getting it on his, as well. Now, it slid down his cheek in the strangest of sensations and she laughed, and it seemed like a real laugh (from what he could tell) and he was glad her could provide at l

East a moment of happiness in the life of such an amazing girl. A girl who was to leave him as soon as her job was done. A girl who had been attacked from the inside out and had set up so many walls, she wasn't afraid to let him pass to the innermost ones. A girl who lived the same kind of danger his brother, who had the same basic purpose- to help.

Alyssa Fenton was a girl unlike any other he'd met, and it was a good kind of different. The kind of different a guy could come to fall in love with, and fast. He only hoped she wouldn't break his heart.

She wouldn't. And he wouldn't break hers, either, which was good, because to break someone who's only just pieced herself back together- someone who's been breaking slowly her entire life- is a crime worthy of the same fate.

But now she was smiling at him, and he'd known she was pretty, but this was beauty and it was a shame that in less than an hour they'd have to leave, and she'd go back to not smiling and business mode.

At least he'd have this, this now, because he'd never fallen so hard and so fast and to love a hunter is to love a life of worry and pain.

So he smiled right back and God, but he was handsome and he was slipping right past her defenses and she didn't even care because Dean was right and she deserved to be happy, at least for a little while.

And she was.

And a little while later they were standing at one end of Maple street staring down at each of the houses.

Ali sighed. "I suggest we go door to door and test for EMF. It will be better if we don't get separated."

He nodded. "I'm good with not leaving your side."

She smiled slightly and pulled her EMF meter out of her pocket. They didn't go into any houses, until halfway down the left side of the street, when her meter red-lined in front of the sidewalk of a quaint little house that was painted white with blue shutters. The shrubs looked as if they had just been trimmed and the path was swept. It was the only well-kept house on the street.

Ali glanced at Kyle. "I guess this is our stop."

Kyle nodded and took a step forward and looked back at her. He held his hand out to her, in the hope that she would take it.

She flashed a small smile and took his hand hesitantly. Once she had taken it, she squeezed his fingers gently.

"Kyle... You can't be afraid in here. Not if this thing is here."

He nodded. "I'm not allowed to be afraid of anything. Got it."

They stepped inside the house and Ali let go of Kyle's hand to ready her shotgun.

"Rock salt shells?"

She nodded. "Rock salt and iron shavings."

"Smart. Takes care of ghosts and demons."

"That's the idea, anyway."

She knew he was trying to keep her from being scared, and it was working. The sound of his voice soothed her.

The floorboards creaked in the next room and Ali whirled around, shotgun ready to fire, when she realized it was sam.

He put his hands up in defense. He had a shotgun in one hand and a flashlight in the other.

"Woah, woah, woah. It's just me, please don't shoot me." He said as he lowered his hands slowly.

Ali rolled her eyes and lowered her weapon. "What the hell are you doing here, Sam?"

"Following a lead, remember?"

"Do you know what this thing does?" She asked. "Or did you just rush in?"

"It feeds on fear, uses it to kill." He responded. "I'm not afraid, Alyssa. Why do you think I made Dean wait in the corner?"

"You have fears too, Sam. Everyone does. Clowns?"

"Over it. I'm not even afraid of dying."

"No." She agreed, but she knew what he was afraid of. "But you still have to leave. Now."

"Why? Ali-"

"It's Alyssa, there is one thing you're terrified of."

"Oh?""

"yes, and both you and Dean need to get off this street or you're both going to die."

"Why?"

"Sam, your deepest fear is losing the people you love and my EMF meter dropped to nothing five seconds ago."

Without a word, Sam turned and run out of the house towards the Impala.

Ali was right behind him until he went through the door; then she stopped and slammed it, locking it outside.

"I turned it off." She told Kyle, turning. But he didn't smile. He raised a hand toward her.

"What are you-?"

"Sam was afraid." Rhodes' voice was different. Deeper. Angrier.

"Shit." She muttered.

He laughed. "You know what he's afraid of?"

She shook her head. "He's afraid of losing Dean, right?"

"He's afraid pf getting his heart broken because he allows himself to love someone... Someone he later finds staring down at him from the ceiling, a red stain across her stomach as a drop of blood drops down onto his face. So, I'd get two victims with one fear..."

Her eyes went wide. "What do you mean?"

He laughed so hard that he bent over double. "Why to get him to die of a broken heart while still killing him through fear I'd have to kill someone he loves more than himself... More than Dean."

A tear trailed down her cheek. "Me?"

" Of course you. He just didn't tell you because he wanted to protect you, but not saying anything doesn't mean he doesn't feel that way." He smirked and flicked his wrist, sending her flying into the wall.

Ali screamed and she heard someone pounding against the door. It was Sam. She could tell by the level of desperation and force behind the noise.

The creature laughed and raised his hand slowly, causing Ali to move up the wall and slide onto the ceiling.

A searing pain flashed across her stomach. Ali went to scream, but the thing raised It's hand gain and the sound died in her throat.

Sam continued to pound on the door- he'd heard Ali's scream.

"Alyssa!"

Rhodes- or what used to be Rhodes- surveyed his work. Ali's hair had spread out in a fan across the ceiling, leaving her face clear to show the panic in her features. The white shirt she had worn was also perfect, it showed the blood stain clearly. Yes, this would definitely break Sam's heart and bring to life his worst fear. It would be a lovely feast of fear in just a few moments.

He turned towards the door and let it break open as Sam rammed his shoulder against it. As soon as Sam was inside, it slammed shut again. It was pleasantly surprised when it didn't hear Dean pounding on the door.

"Where's Alyssa?" Sam demanded, running into the room.

It shook it's head. "I don't know. I just heard a scream when I turned away from her. When I turned back she was gone." The thing said in Rhodes' voice.

Sam took a few steps toward him, :What do you mean 'she was gone'? Why weren't you paying attention?"

"She told me to look around!" He yelled. "Where could she have gone? She wasn't afraid of anything, was she?"

"If she was, she wouldn't tell me about it. Not unless it was there now."

"Really? She told me?"

"What?"

"Her greatest fear is to be abandoned. To be left behind, but since you already abandoned her, twice." He smirked. "Once at the lake, and once when you went to save Dean from nothing."

Sam's eyes went wide and he slammed Rhodes against the wall. "Who are you?"

"More like a what, actually."

"Answer the question." Sam growled.

"Alan Porter, the not-so-friendly neighborhood poltergeist."

Sam frowned. "How does a poltergeist terrorize an entire street?"

"By getting his worst nightmare drawn out over a week. My wife was a psychopath. We were married for three years. Every little inconsiderate thing I did, she counted. I didn't put my dirty dishes away? I got home late? I drank too much? She counted it, and on my birthday, she turned me into that many pieces. She got rid of me piece by piece at each of our neighbor's houses whenever she went to ask them if they had seen me, or if they invited her over. I'm scattered all over this street." He smirked."Too much DNA for you and your brother to burn."

Sam glared at him and went for the salt in his pocket when he saw a drop of red splatter onto the back of his hand and run down to his palm.

"No."

"Oh yes, Sammy boy."

Sam's eyes traveled upwards to see Ali staring down at him.

"Help me,Sam." She tried to scream, but when her lips moved, no sound came out. And even though nothing past her lips, Sam knew she was pleading for his help.

:No! Alyssa!" He shouted as the flames started. "Ali!"

The flames circled her body and spread across the ceiling. Her eyes never left his as the fire crept down the walls. He heard the poltergeist laugh, but he didn't dare look away from Ali. Not even as the inferno engulfed him.

Alan stood among the blaze and watched them. They were just like every other set of hunters who came to stop him. That was the thing about hunters. They were always scared. Always. He leaned against the wall; a smile dancing across his lips as he heard Sam scream in agony.