"Ellen, it's me again. Any chance you've heard from him?" Dean spoke into the phone. He and Lux were parked under a highway next to an airport. Illinois had been a bust and the places Dean had gone to were as well. "I swear, it's like looking for my dad all over again. I'm losing my mind here."

When they met up in Kansas, Dean created a new plan of attack with new locations to check, this time planning to join back up in four days. The pair took their own cars now and split up once more. They kept in touch often, short calls here and there, and longer calls at night to update with as much detail as possible. Lux began constructing a map of all the places Dean thought Sam might be, and they scoured the internet in search of possible connections between those places and the news. They had suggested the possibility of Sam hunting on his own, and if that was the case, it could help to keep tabs on strange occurrences.

Lux hadn't wanted to say anything to Dean, but they'd felt something off about Sam back in Texas. Even now they couldn't exactly put their finger on it, but they would. It was part of their gift after all.

"I've called him a thousand times. It's nothing but voice mail," he continued and looked around. The despairing look made Lux feel even sorrier for the man and they closed the distance to stand beside him in silent support. "I don't know where he went or why. Sam's just gone." There was a change in his expression, a flicker of annoyance. "Hang on," he said and checked his phone.

Sam's name was on the screen. "Holy shit," Lux muttered and Dean quickly hit the accept button.

"Sammy, where the hell are you?" Dean barked into the phone. "Are you okay?" He turned to Lux, his hazel eyes on theirs as he listened to Sam. "Hey. Hey, hey, hey. Calm down. Where are you?" he said and pushed off the car while motioning Lux to go to their car. "Okay. Alright, don't move. We're on our way." Lux paused, waiting by their open door now. "Twin Lakes, Wisconsin," Dean said while getting into his own car and speeding off.

The location was random. A little too random, to Lux, and they turned the whole situation over in their head throughout the drive, looking at it from different perspectives. "Feels hinky, Stacey," they muttered. "Subtly off-kilter."

It was a little over four hours before Dean and Lux arrived at Twin Lakes. Lux followed from a few feet behind when they arrived at the motel, watching Dean stalked down the halls, head on a swivel as he looked for the room number. When he found room 109 he banged on the door, calling Sam's name before trying the knob and finding it open. Dean looked over at Lux and they nodded, signaling they'd watch his back.

When the duo walked in, they found Sam alone, sitting on one of the beds. Lux felt a little relieved – just a little. Something was still most definitely off. They watched Dean squat down in front of his brother. "You bleeding?"

"I tried to wash it off," Sam said barely above a whisper. Lux's eyes went down to where Dean was staring, frowning at the blood on Sam's knuckles, and then flickering up to Sam's clothes. Dried blood on the torso. Not his, though. Lux's attention went to the room after. Every part of it was intact – the bed was made, the desk was clear with its chair still pushed into it, the sink area clear. No trash, no discarded food wrappings. The frown returned and a quiet sidestep gave them a view of the bathroom. Nothing used. "Dean, I don't remember anything."

"What's the last thing you do remember?" Lux asked, still standing by the door. This drew the attention of Sam, finally, but they weren't tricked. He'd been well aware of their presence.

"The three of us in that motel room in West Texas," Sam answered. "We went to that dumb, posh restaurant only to get rejected because of our clothes. We ended up at a burger joint."

Dean rubbed at his face. "Texas was a week ago, Sammy," he said.

Sam looked up from his hands, his eyes tired and sad. "That's it," he replied in a low voice. "Next thing I knew, I was sitting here… bloody. I felt like I'd been asleep for a month." A flag went up for Lux at this.

"Alright, first things first," Lux tried to take command. "Food. Rest. Then we retrace your steps," they directed to Sam and added a reassuring smile after. "We're going to figure this out together. I'm going to get us some burgers and drinks and when we've got a clear head, we'll tackle it a step at a time, alright?" they said, looking between the brothers. The Winchester boys nodded and Lux mimicked them. "Alright, I'll be back soon. Don't go anywhere."

With that, Lux turned away and headed out the room. Once they were fully outside of the hotel, their expression turned to worry as they ran a hand through their hair. "Oh boy," they sighed and chewed on the inside of their cheek as they slipped behind the wheel. "I really hope it's not what I think it is."

Lux decided it may be a good idea to take precautions and made a pit stop. "Shalom Aleichem, Rabbi Mosheh," they said with a polite smile. "Thank you for seeing me. It was a bit of a shock to find a synagogue in such a small town," they admitted as they took a seat. "It certainly brought peace to my spirit."

The Rabbi studied Lux carefully before taking a seat of his own and holding his hands open. "Yahweh is everywhere, child. And if you have a need for Him, He will provide."

At this, Lux leaned forward with a widening smile. "Excellent. Because you're right, Rabbi. I have a mighty need."

While Lux hadn't discovered a foolproof way of killing a demon, they'd found plenty of ways to protect themselves from the things and at least hurt them if given the chance. Waiting in the drive-thru line, Lux pulled out the snubbie from the ankle holster and whipped the cylinder out. They knocked out the silver bullets into their open palm before setting the empty gun on the passenger seat and reaching for the vial in their jacket.

"Rabbi Mosheh, Modim anachnu lach," Lux said in a low voice as they uncorked the vial and dabbed oil onto their fingertip. "Baruch ata, Adonai, hatov shimcha ul'cha na-eh l'hodot." They smoothed the oil over the bullet, repeating the previous phrase each time they switched to a new one, until all six rounds were anointed with the oil. Securing the vial, they placed it back into their jacket before reconsidering and pulling open a secret compartment under the drink tray and settling it next to half a dozen bottles of holy water. Tilting their head back and forth, they took a bottle of holy water and placed that in their jacket instead. "Better safe than sorry."

Their cell phone rang just as they grabbed the trio's food. "How's our baby?" they said, pressing the device to their ear with a shoulder as they stole fries from Dean's bag.

"We got a trail we're following," Dean replied.

Bad news never sat well with Lux. "I thought we were going to eat and rest first," they said through gritted teeth and stepped a little harder on the gas pedal. "Did you two already leave the motel?"

"Yeah, we're headed to this gas station two towns over. Don't worry, we'll be back in a couple of hours. If we get delayed, I'll call you," Dean promised and Lux's whole body tensed. "I left your gun." The non sequitur knocked Lux off-guard and distracted them from their anger.

"What?"

"In the bathroom, under the towels," Dean explained. "Just in case."

Lux raised an eyebrow at this. "You expect trouble?"

"Not really, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared, does it?" he said and Lux could practically hear the smirk through the line. "I'll call you in a few."

The line went dead before Lux could even think to reply and they pulled the phone away, staring intently at the screen. "You better," they muttered after a long moment, their mind now reeling with possibilities.