Hey all! As you know, I own nothing associated with the show Supernatural. I can, however, take credit for Kate and now her father. Firstly, I'd like to as always thank you all for returning to read these updates. I am so grateful to you all. After a very, very long time, I have finished part 2. I have had some things going on in my personal life recently that have made it difficult to maintain the time and energy that I prefer to use when writing my stories, particularly this one as I hold Supernatural very near and dear to my heart. So I decided that I would just take a step back altogether if I could not bring the level I wanted to finish this chapter. It may be some time before I get to posting the next one but finally, and with pleasure, here is Croatoan part 2. I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 21: Croatoan Part 2

The anger radiating from Dean was palpable. "Dean. Now, just hang on-." Sam began slowly, seeing his brother's ire rise.

"They've got one! In here!" Came the shout from the man that she and Dean found on the road.

Dean sent Sam a pointed look before he moved immediately, "What do you mean?" He questioned gruffly as the trio passed through an open doorway into the back of the doctor's office.

"The wife. Azrael was right. She's infected." Sam answered.

"My father-?" Kate began asking as she followed the boys but, she hushed up as she peeked between Sam and Dean to see the closed door of the utility closet.

"We gotta take care of this," The Seargent began as he addressed Dean directly, "My neighbors- they were strong. The longer we wait, the stronger she'll get." He went on to explain.

Sam tensed. Kate could tell he wasn't enthused about shooting a lady, who was unarmed and locked in a closet. Meanwhile, Dean was quick to withdraw his gun and check his ammo inside. He moved into the office that held what looked like a doctor and an assisting nurse. Kate recognized them from the episode she was currently living through.

She followed the three men as they entered before her, the Sarge had his rifle out and ready to take on the threat inside the closet. "I'm sorry, you're gonna kill Beverly Tanner?" The blonde nurse asked. Kate had made a mental note about her being infected as Kate recalled her being the one to go after Sam.

"Doctor, could there be any treatment? Some kind of cure for this?" Sam asked his concerned eyes looking towards the Doctor. The lady was very clearly overwhelmed by this question as her mouth opened, but no words came out.

"Can you cure it?" Dean asked sharply now, as he moved between Sam and the Sarge, his eyes pinned on the doctor.

"For god's sake! I don't even know what it is!" She responded, clearly out of her element and feeling the pressure.

"I told you, it's only a matter of time before she breaks through!" Sarge interrupted. He seemed to be feeling similar pressure, as he continued shifting his weight from one foot to the other nervously. Everyone in the room was feeling the seriousness of this situation. A woman's life was hanging in the balance.

"Just leave her in there! You can't shoot her like an animal!" Kate watched the nurse, Pam, according to her nametag flicked her eyes from one brother to the other as she spoke in defense of the woman in the closet.

"Sam?" Dean questioned as both boys moved in towards the closet door. Dean glanced over his shoulder back at the two medical staff in the room. They each shared a concerned glance at each other before Kate watched the Sarge switch out his rifle for a smaller handgun, the one he'd had pointed at Dean for the entirety of the five-minute drive they'd taken over here.

Sam slowly opened the closet door, where Kate could hear the woman sobbing, it was a double-edged sword because while she knew- from the show that the woman was indeed infected, she could hear the human in the other room crying and begging for her life. Kate's brain knew what was about to happen, but it were as though it all played out in slow motion before her.

"Mark. It's them, not me! They locked me in here! Th- They tried to kill me. They're infected, not me." Kate could hear the crying intensifying. "Please! Mark! You've known me all your life! Please!"

Kate could see the once proud soldier man, who'd had a gun on her earlier seemingly break down at the thought of having to murder a woman he considered his friend. Dean turned towards Sam while Sarge still had his weapon on Beverly. "Are you sure she's one of 'em?" He asked. Sam nodded slowly with a look of disgust. He muttered a soft yeah, and Dean replaced his concerned expression with a stoic coldness. He moved forward into the closet with quick feet and disappeared behind the wall. Kate heard three rounds fire off, causing the women nearby to jump.

"D-do you need help?" Kate was surprised by the doctor referring to her. Kate glanced over herself as if just remembering she was covered in her own blood from earlier. She must've needed a slight distraction from what was taking place in her office.

"Uhm. Yeah, I'd just like a place to change with some privacy is all." Kate answered.

"That's an awful lot of blood-."

"I'm fine," Kate stated quickly trying to avoid questions. "All this was from the course of the last two days."

"What have you been doing then?" Pam questioned sharply, she held a slight contempt in her tone that didn't go past Kate's attention.

"Pam. That's enough. We're all stressed, and we're all worried-."

Pam nodded as she waved the doctor off before disappearing through the room where the nurses' station was. "I'm sorry, she is just really worried about her family."

"Aren't we all?" Kate asked as she watched Dean emerge from the closet, and Sam quickly closed the door behind him. The Sarge pulled away looking numb from shock. "Bathrooms right through there." She added as she directed Kate through a smaller door outside the medical room they were standing in. "Where's Duane Tanner?" Dean asked, his voice rang out with a sudden authoritative tone to it.

"He- he's in the other room, further down. The Marshall, here, suggested we tie him down and wait to see if he was like his mother. He came in with a cut on his leg." Kate heard the doctor answer as Kate closed the door to at least change out of her dirty shirt. It seemed Sam and Dean continued to go back and forth about what to do about the possessed kid. Kate couldn't help but side with Dean as hazy memories of her trip here from Mississippi with him came back to her…

Kate awoke in the trunk of a car, she groaned in response to her neck being stiff and sore as she turned her head to take in her darkened surroundings. She found her hands bound tightly in rope and began immediately reacting on panic and adrenaline as she tried banging loudly on the trunk lid and screaming to be let out. The car had slowed to a halt along the side of whatever road, and upon being blinded by the sunlight suddenly spilling into the trunk she was quick to find herself slammed down against the scratchy carpeted floor.

"You better play nicely, Kate. Wouldn't want things to get messy now, would we?" When her eyes had finally adjusted to the brightness of the surrounding daylight she looked up to see the serious face of Duane Tanner above her.

"Ho-how do you know my-?"

"Name?" He asked before he let out a dark chuckle. "Please. Every demon in hell knows who you are by now. Azazel's orders are to capture you and take you to him. I, unfortunately, don't have time for that right now. I'm on a bit of a tight schedule as it were so… I'm taking you along with me. Merrick might have a better plan for what to do with you."

"Mer-Merrick?" Kate could hear the fear sneaking into her tone of voice and hated it. Memories from the months prior in South Dakota of Gina cutting into parts of her body at random came to mind. Her left hand and forearm began to itch at the mere memory of the demon.

"Yep," Duane replied curtly. "If you stay quiet. I may even let you into the car. For now though better safe than sorry…" She watched as Duane began to try and shut the trunk, but Kate was faster, fighting against the pain in her injured abdomen from the hellhound attack just hours before she shot her leg out, nailing Duane in the stomach. The demon reacted slowly as he glanced down at her, confused by the love tap she'd hit him with. Kate tried to quickly jump out of the trunk screaming as loud as she could, but the demon's arms shot out and Kate fell to the gravel road below. Hard.

She hissed in pain as her forearms took the brunt of the landing, rocks scraping up her skin. Releasing a heavy breath she glanced down at her abdomen, her shirt had absorbed a significant amount of blood from the open bite marks on her side. The tank top was stuck and dried to her abdomen with blood from the wound. It must've been a couple of hours since she'd been knocked unconscious.

"Oh yeah, you seemed to have had a bit of a run-in with the hellhound back in Rosedale. Unsure how you were able to kill it though, but you seemed to live to tell the tale… for now." Duane muttered, angrily as he lifted her from the ground and carried her back to the car before slamming her back into the trunk while furtively glancing around the seemingly abandoned back road they were on.

"Where're we going?" She croaked out from her horizontal position. She didn't really have another option to fight him at the moment as she didn't have any weapons on her. She assumed the demon had taken her phone and chucked it out the window long before she'd awakened as it was no longer on her person. She felt a hand suddenly grip the tank top at her chest as her body was pulled up slightly from the trunk, only to be met with a closed fist against her jaw. The force behind the punch made Kate think he'd used a bat against her head, but it was just his fist. She knew that demons had super strength from the show.

She made an unintelligible noise as Duane's hand closed around her throat pinning her to the trunk floor, "Nowhere you need to worry your pretty little head about. We still have a long drive ahead of us darlin' So get comfy." He stared down at Kate, his eyes unreadable as she continued to struggle for air. She could feel her chest beginning to burn from a lack of oxygen and a heavy pressure pounding through her head. Her hands jumped up to scrabble and claw at the back of his unsuccessfully, as her wrists were still bound together. She felt her body jerk as her legs kicked out in a last-ditch effort to fight for her life. Kate gasped loudly when he finally released her, coughing hard as air filled her lungs again. The demon within Duane was quick to slam the trunk shut in her face. After that, Kate was locked in darkness once again, with nothing to do but wait.

Kate's mind quickly returned to the present as she finished changing. Quickly tossing her old shirt in the bathroom trash not wanting the reminder of what she'd gone through. While she still desperately needed a shower after the last 48 hours, she had bigger things to focus on. She needed to warn Sam and Dean about Pam, and she wanted to speak to Duane to see what or how much he knew about Azazel's plans and the location of the Colt. "You aren't talking to him without me." Was all she said as she emerged from the bathroom. Sam and Dean appeared to have been going back and forth, probably about Duane. Kate's eyes watched Dean as he pulled out the magazine of his gun and quickly checked the loaded cartridge.

"You don't need to do this Kate." Sam butted in. She could hear the worry in his tone as he sent her a look of concern, or was it pity? I must've really looked like shit when I got here. She thought briefly as she continued trying to decipher the softness in his expression.

"Yeah, I do, Sam." She answered her voice now fierce with determination, her eyes glancing away from him moving to stare at Dean's unreadable expression.

"Well, you ain't goin' in there alone." Dean agreed easily enough, Kate looked him up and down searching for any sign of a smirk or a smile, but she found none. It was clear that Dean was angry.

"I never said I was going to be able to do it alone…." She trailed off as she broke their eye contact and glanced downwards, her own voice getting softer. She could remember some of the things the demon had put her through on the ride here. The memories were putting her on edge.

The trio moved slowly as they opened the door to the nearby exam room. Duane sat in the center of the room, tied to a chair.

"Katie, It's a pleasure to see you again, and so soon." Duane greeted with a glint in his eye. "Guess the jig is up, ain't it?" when Duane spoke this time, his eyes flooded black and they slowly moved in Sam's direction.

"We know what you are," Sam stated as the door shut behind him. His expression changed to one of disgust, and his tone was condescending. It was as though a switch was flipped in him from the second they all passed the threshold of the room. Sam moved to cross his arms over his chest, standing in front of the door appearing very bouncer-esque. Kate and Dean stood further in on either side of Sam.

"Where's Pestilence?" Kate asked cutting off the undoubtedly witty response the demon had handy for them.

Duane paused as he stared at Kate in surprise, "Pestilence-?"

"Yes. The horseman." Kate clarified. The anger in her voice was unwavering. She must've even surprised Sam and Dean with it, as neither of them said a word or moved a muscle. "This coatoan virus is his sick version of art, no?" She finished with sarcasm.

"Very few have knowledge of the horsemen…" Duane stated, his voice low and threatening. He was beating around the bush, not answering her question.

"She asked you a question," Dean trailed off as he and Sam began to step in and quickly take control. The pair began asking further questions but Kate wasn't paying attention any longer. Seemingly, more and more flashes of her road trip from Mississippi began replaying in her head at hearing Duane's voice once again.

The demon possessing the young man before her seemed to get his rocks off by being outright cruel to her. Particularly when he'd pulled over yet again due to her trying to kick out the rear lights of the car from within the trunk. He'd beaten her at that point until she'd blacked out again, only the next time she'd come to again she found herself lying over the backseat of the car.

Kate had sat up slowly in the back seat, her head pounding incessantly, she was unsurprised by the headache with the fact that the demon had knocked her out cold using just his fists at least twice in the last twelve hours. Her face felt swollen and immobile, she could feel a dull pain over the center of her face, it was as though someone's thumbs were trying to press her nose around itself and up against her face. Kate's right hand moved up slowly and touched her nose, where she found it bent in a way it shouldn't have been and came to realize it had been broken. She was distracted now by a throbbing across her right arm. She looked down and found a red and raised cut clean across her forearm, dead center in the length of it. She could see a blood stain from it over the cloth seat beside her. Nighttime seemed to have long fallen around the outside of the car now, and they were unmoving on the side of the road.

Her dry throat was begging for some sort of water now, and the empty pang in her stomach told her she should have long eaten by now. "Yes sir. I will." She'd heard Duane's voice from the front seat. Kate looked in his direction to find that he was holding a golden goblet in his lap as he spoke down over it.

"She keeps waking up, sir. It's been hard to keep her subdued-," He stopped heaving a heavy sigh of annoyance. "Yes- Yes, I know that. I will bring her to him. Yes." Kate was trying to move as quietly as possible towards the rear passenger door. She knew that she needed to get out and away, as soon as she could.

Kate's hand enclosed around the door lever gently, as Duane's head suddenly snapped in her direction over his shoulder in the driver seat. His black eyes elicited a sudden panic in her chest as her heart began hammering against her sternum.

Kate yanked back on the lever but found that the door would not give. It wouldn't open in the slightest. Kate cried out her frustration.

"Safety locks are on, girly," Duane told her, a disturbing smirk spreading over his lips. Kate cursed as she realized that he must've switched on the child safety locks when he moved her into the backseat. "Can't afford to have you pull another vanishing act like in Baltimore, Azazel isn't going to stand for it."

"Let me go," Kate said, her eyes refusing to meet his as the feeling of defeat began to sink in.

"You, well know that that isn't not going to happen," He answered still turned around and facing her. Kate's face hurt as her eyes squeezed shut in hopes of blocking out the situation she found herself in.

"I assume you were speaking to Azazel in the goblet phone then?" Kate questioned as Duane continued to stare.

"Yeah, thanks for paying the long-distance toll by the way." He chuckled, as he began rolling down the window and dumped out the red contents in the gold goblet.

"Where are we going? What do you even want with me? What does Azazel want?" She stated, her voice soft in the quiet of the car.

"Oh, don't sell yourself short there… according to Merrick, you know quite a bit of useful information. Now, I'm not a hundred percent sold on that fact, myself, but Azazel is, and you've piqued some interest. Now, if you just stop trying to get away. This trip could be a whole hell of a lot easier on the both of us."

"I'm more inclined to keep myself alive, seeing as how the last time a demon captured me I nearly died, and now? I've been nearly bludgeoned."

Duane let out a harsh bark of laughter, "Over dramatic much?" He asked with an eyebrow raised, "I may have broken your nose. So what? I have to tell you, it's markedly improved your face."

Kate didn't say anything so she turned away from him, she had nothing else to say. There wasn't much for her to say, the thought of teaming up with anyone against the boys made her ill. Kate was still locked down in this car. This explained now why the demon didn't need to use his psychic powers to keep her pinned down back here, not that she felt like moving much right now. Her body was throbbing, a dull ache from what seemed like all over.

Kate remained still as she felt the car slowly begin moving again.

"Kate? Katie?" She heard a voice cutting through her memories as Dean pulled her back into the present time. "You good?" He asked.

"No, she's not." The demon behind him spoke out, Duane's eyes were trained on Kate now. She noted now that a salt ring appeared to grace the floor around the chair that Duane was tied to. "I'm afraid I may have already broken her on the trip here," Duane said with a sinister grin.

Sam and Dean's gaze moved from the demon to stare at Kate. They took in the look on her face, she wasn't sure if they'd expected, anger, or fright, but what they found was a pained expression staring between them, at the demon.

"Hey, are you alright, Kate?" Sam asked softly, moving closer to her as his hand moved to cover her shoulder, but Kate flinched back away from the offered hand, her back hitting the shut door of the exam room behind her. Hard.

The brothers watched, just waiting for a response. They both- gratefully, gave her some space. Kate felt her tongue flick out to wet her lips before closing her eyes and taking in a steadying breath, "I'll be alright. I just-. For the time he had me. I-. It was- It was awful." She finished her voice soft, She couldn't help but wear her vulnerability on her sleeve at the moment.

"You know-. You know that he can't hurt you-. Not now." Sam said suddenly moving to block Duane out of her sight. Kate opened her mouth to reply, but she couldn't find the words.

"Kate," Sam's voice pulled her attention to him and out of her own head. She could see a fierce determination on his face, "You're stronger than this. I know you are. We- we've seen it, and you've gone through too much with us to be taken down now." He told her. His tone of voice brought her back to her past training days with him and Dean in Bobby's basement.

"I-." She began to protest, her brain thinking up all the times she'd been bested by the supernatural beings in this world.

"Hey, you took out Meg, remember Kate? And you faced Yellow Eyes head-on with us. You did that all on your own. You saved Pastor Jim, and changed stuff with our dad, right? You did all that without a lick of help from us. This guy? He's a freaking cakewalk compared to all that." Dean added as he moved in closer. "Besides, I won't let anything happen to you, I promise." Kate felt her face heat up as she undoubtedly turned red.

Kate stared at Dean, feeling a lump steadily forming in her throat, her eyes were burning as though tears were itching to well up. At his words, something in her stirred. It was as if she felt a switch flip and all of her fear just shifted.

She had enough of the things that went bump in the night, she had enough of the demons tailing her, and taking what they wanted. Prying her for information, and torturing her. She already knew the ins and outs of this show. She knew every little thing that was hurdling at her right now, and it was time she took control and used it to her advantage. She nodded as the gears in her head began turning, thinking of a way to get the info they wanted out of the demon with minimal risk.

"Where's the rest of the horsemen?" She asked into the quiet room as she moved and carefully grabbed a bullet out of one of the boxes from Dean's nearby open duffel.

Duane laughed harshly at the question, as the brothers shared a confused glance with one another. Kate moved to grab a knife now steadily beginning to carve deliberate lines into the tip of the bullet with it. Flashes of the episode where Dean learned to do this from his grandfather swam up from her memories.

"Please." He scoffed, "You really think I know that kind of information? The one to ask would have been Merrick, my dear, and I'm afraid he's… been forced to step away for the moment."

"Fine. Where's is this Pestilence then?" She heard Dean ask as he stepped in closer to the salt circle looking more intimidating as his grip on his gun tightened reflexively. Kate quickly noted the silver flask in his left hand.

Duane chuckled darkly as his eyes moved towards Dean's figure. "Right now?" He questioned, his voice slow and deliberately aloof. "Far, far away from here." Dean's other hand jerked forwards swiftly and Kate heard the sounds of water splattering. Duane yelled suddenly fighting against the ropes that pinned him in place. The holy water sizzled off of his exposed skin. "I can't give you information I don't know, now can I!?" The demon yelled as his black eyes shined bright under the lighting inside the exam room.

"Alright. Fine then, where's the colt?" Kate questioned, she expected some type of sarcasm from the demon at that question, but was surprised to find his mouth open with no sounds.

She saw the boys react from out of the corner of her eye, but she figured they could have that conversation when they talked about everything else.

"What the hell is that?" Duane asked, his expression displaying the clear confusion he felt. Obviously, the knowledge of the Colt had not reached him.

"Nah, I'm not buying your act, pal," Dean muttered as he quickly began splattering the demon with the holy water. More screaming ensued once again, but a sudden pounding on the door broke the thickened tension in the room.

Sam hesitated his eyes flashing over towards Dean as Duane's cries became mere whimpers from the pain. "Go talk to them, Sam. We've got this." Dean told him curtly. Kate noted his stoic expression seemed almost similar to the one she'd seen on him during that hunt in Red Lodge. When he'd fought and killed the vampire.

"We need information, Dean. Just- just try to remember that." Dean hadn't spared a glance in Sam's direction as the exam room door opened and closed quickly.

"I don't know anything about the horseman. I- I'm just a middleman, I swear." Duane's voice was breathless as he fought through the residual burning.

"You tell me then, how a middleman like yourself, just happens to stumble upon just the right hotel, in just the right room, where the sole person that your guys are after happens to be?" Dean questioned, his voice low, and threatening. Dean stood still now, keeping on the outside of the salt line. He was towing the line though with how close he was. Kate knew from the show that the line of salt only worked about half the time, which was why she was currently loading up the bullet she'd been carving up into the magazine of her pistol.

She wasn't taking any chances on letting this demon go free, not after everything she'd already endured at his hands. The dark and violent things he'd already done to her had convinced her that he could not be unleashed on the world. No matter what the cost was.

"Who said I just happened upon the hotel with Kate and Silvia?" Duane questioned. "Who says you all hadn't been followed all the way from Baltimore? Who says you aren't being followed, right now?" He questioned with a sick and twisted grin on his features. His eyes solely focused on Kate now. It was clear that the demon was goading one of the two hunters to react, into getting closer.

Dean paused as he glanced at Kate from Duane before his focus returned to the threat before him, "Hey pal, she's not talkin' to you; I am."

Without missing a beat Duane replied, "Nah. You aren't my type, I'm afraid. Innocent, and scared is more how I like 'em." Kate had to fight back the shiver that ran up her spine at the demon's words, she could hardly control her face as she felt her lips twist into a shape of disgust. She wondered idly just how many people this thing had tortured in its existence.

"Isn't that right, Katie?" He questioned now solely addressing her. "She knows just how much fun I can be-."

"Alright, shut up." Dean interrupted. He glanced back at Kate, but she appeared detached from the situation before her. Kate's mind was churning, she had been knocked out for quite some time with this demon, and the way he was staring at her made her especially uneasy. She was now questioning just what took place during the times that she was unconscious. "Oh, what's the matter, Dean-o? From what I've heard through the demon grapevine, you would be most interested in what I've got to say-"

"I told you to shut your mouth!" Dean growled as he moved and before Duane could even finish his sentence he landed a swift punch to the man's jaw. Suddenly the room changed in a matter of seconds, Kate watched as Dean was forced backward, and slammed down to the ground quickly. Duane stood from the chair slowly after the ropes snapped from the force he was using to break through them.

Dean reacted quickly as he tripped Duane up using his legs, but the doctor's tools adorning the back wall seemed to fly off by themselves and soar through the air, aiming right for Dean's head. Duane moved to grab Dean again, but he was able to kick out Duane's leg and roll away, messing up the salt circle in the process.

Kate was quick to move herself between Dean and the demon, her gun at the ready, and aimed right for Duane's head. A humorous scoff left Duanes lips as his eyes moved over Kate slowly now.

"You're gonna shoot me? Really?" Duane questioned with an air of arrogance.

Kate didn't respond. Her sole focus was on the gun in her hand, and she noted that it wasn't wavering in the slightest. Dean's labored breathing filled the room as he pushed himself to his feet. He stared at the situation before him apprehensively. Kate's gaze bore into Duane however, his lower lip was split and a bruise was forming along the left side of his face where Dean's punch had impacted him. He was her sole focus in the room, anything around them wasn't even on her radar.

"I hate to break the news to you, girlie," Duane seemed to lurch forward, leaning closer to the gun as he spoke, "But, guns don't work on demons." He told her softly."The only thing that you'd accomplish is yet another murder under your belt." Duane told her, still wearing an arrogant smirk across his features. He was clearly taunting her over the demon cop she'd stabbed in Chicago- Pete.

"I don't care." Kate bit out through her clenched teeth, her anger that she'd been quietly seething in for the duration of the boys' questioning was beginning to bubble through the cracks in her cool demeanor.

"It won't harm me, Darlin'." Duane's demon told her as he took a step closer. "Just this meatsuit."

Kate felt her face break out in a small all-knowing smirk as her gaze locked on Duane. "Think that, do you?" She asked with her head tilted upwards in defiance.

"Kate, wait-." As Dean spoke sounding far off behind her, Kate thought of what this demon would do if it were allowed to get out. She replayed the haunting memories of the beatings this demon gave her. She thought of that and the fact that the Sarge in the other room would be saved, if she'd just end him, here and now. So, without a second thought, her finger flexed over the trigger and a shot rang out within the small confines of the exam room.

A split second of ringing silence laid over everyone before the door was busted open and Sam entered, followed by the Sarge, the two medical staff were looking in nervously from the hallway.

"Dean! What the hell-?" Sam began angrily, but Kate moved and pushed Duane's now immobile body back into the chair behind him. A small trail of blood leaked down from the hole in his forehead, it fell over the bridge of his nose and began to trail down.

She watched closely as the demon in Duane's body tried to fight through the bullet that was keeping him immobile. His eyes flickered between black and normal before remaining the darker color. The demon within Duane yelled out a guttural scream as the realization of his immobility hit him.

"What did you do to me?!"

Kate continued to smirk wryly as she moved to put the handgun down on the nearby table.

"He's not going anywhere now." She muttered to Sam and Dean, who each stood there with shocked expressions.

"He- He's not dead?" Sarge asked, the confusion clear on his face.

"No," Kate began, "Well, actually, I'm sure the person you're referring to was already dead. Long before Duane here got back into town, isn't that right?" She questioned her eyes turning back to the angry demon in the room.

"Kate. Ho- How- How did you do that-?" Sam asked his voice filled with shock.

"Yeah," Dean stated as he moved to side the gun further out of her reach,and his eyebrows were turned down as though he were deep in thought. "I'd like an answer to that as well."

"How is he not dead?!" Sarge questioned, his face twisted into an uncomfortable expression. His brain was clearly not putting two and two together from what he saw to what his brain knew was logical.

"He's a demon," Kate answered bluntly.

Sam had made a move to interrupt her, but it appeared he and Dean were both still reeling from Kate's devil's trap bullet. "One thing at a time, comrade." Dean said quickly to the sarge before shifting his attention back to Kate, "Seriously, How in the hell did you do that?"

"Devil's trap bullet," Kate stated simply.

"Devil's trap-? I'm sorry, did she just say Devil's trap bullet?" Dean asked glancing over at Sam, his tone filled with disbelief. "You knew how to do that all this time?" Dean asked her, his words coming out so quickly that it all sounded like one word.

"Uh. You carve the basic symbol into the head of the bullet, aim, and fire. I remembered that it worked on a much more powerful demon, so I figured it would also work with this one…." She shrugged. "Took me a while to remember it, but I must've got the symbol right cause… it worked…" She trailed off slowly, still kind of surprised herself.

"Remembered it right?" Dean questioned, "Must've worked?" He continued quoting. "You bet our lives on a hunch?" He questioned in a dramatic outrage.

"We- well… I wouldn't call it a hunch as I sort of already knew it would work-." Kate began feeling put on the spot a little.

"What if you had remembered it wrong?" Sam asked the shock was there in his tone as well. He wasn't being as dramatic as Dean was, but still.

"Well, then. Uh, I guess this situation could've gone a whole other way?" She asked with a slight chuckle and a shrug. All the previous bravado she was feeling had been sucked right out of her now. Thanks, guys. She thought begrudgingly.

"So, hang on, that's not Duane?" Sarge continued questioning from just inside the door.

"Oh no. Duane's not home right now. He's gone now. No, thanks to Kate." The demon answered from the chair, his voice barely above a growl. The sarge sent the boy one last dirty look before Sam ushered the locals out of the room.

"Guess your visions aren't always right, huh Sam?" Dean muttered as he and Sam came up beside her. Sam huffed in response before Dean moved on to continue his questioning. "Well seeing as how you ain't leaving anytime soon, how about you explain what's going on in this town? Where'd all the people go, huh?" Dean was quick to press the demon for answers.

Duane's face appeared unreadable, as he continued to glare at Kate. The trio of hunters were met with stone-cold silence. "Look man, if we have to do this the hard way, we'll play ball. I don't think that's what you want though cause it appears that Katie here… well, she seems to know a lot more about hurtin' demons than we do, and we'll just let her go to town. Sounds to me like she deserves a little payback on you anyway."

"What does any of this have to do with Yellow Eyes?" Sam asked now jumping in as he moved forward alongside Dean. His tone had changed to one that was threatening. "I know this was some kind of test. Why here? Why now and Why me?" Sam continued questioning. The expression on Sam's face was reminiscent of Dean's back when they'd been hunting vampires in Red Lodge.

"Those," Duane answered slowly, "Would have been excellent questions for Merrick." Sam took a breath fighting to calm himself as he pulled back slowly. Duane chuckled lowly at the predicament he was in.

"I'm afraid that I can't help you. Look, threaten me all you want, but this is precisely why us, middlemen aren't told anything of importance. We're- No, I'm expendable." He finished with a twisted grin. Duane's teeth were stained red from the earlier punch he'd received from Dean.

"Yeah, you are," Kate agreed as she moved towards her duffle bag and pulled out the blade that she'd missed sorely in her absence.

She watched a torn expression appear over Sam's features. It was obvious he wanted to push for information, information on what yellow eyes wanted with him, why Jess had been killed, and why everything in his life seemed to happen the way it had. Kate knew that she'd have to tell him eventually, but she really didn't want to have that painful conversation right now.

"You'll get answers, Sam. I promise, but not like this. Besides, you heard him. He doesn't know anything." Kate told him slowly.

"Demon's lie," Sam argued. His expression hardened and his eyes never left the demon.

"We do," Duane stated slowly, "but, so don't they," Duane finished as his eyes shifted between Dean and Kate. "Katie, and Big Bro over there," Duane said with a small jerk of his head in Dean's direction.

Sam paused his eyebrows turning down quickly in confusion, Kate watched his eyes glance in Dean's direction as well, but other than that, his face remained stoic. "Oh yeah, these two here? They know much more than they've let you in on, Sammy. Go on, why don't you ask them."

"What do you know?" Sam asked after a beat, he was staring across the room at Dean, dumbfounded at the news from the demon.

Kate also glanced over in Dean's direction and found him wearing an uncomfortable expression. He didn't say anything, he glanced from Kate to the smug-looking demon sitting immobile before them.

Kate couldn't ignore the fact that she thoroughly enjoyed seeing the cocky facial expression fall from Duane's face as fear replaced it. Kate moved again without hesitation now. She knew that there was nothing else this demon could tell them, and with that, she was quick to sink her blade into the demon's chest. Memories of her capture were still replaying fresh in her mind as she twisted the blade in deeper feeling his body twitch in response to the intrusion. She stared now as the demon's eyes lit up in an all too familiar fashion, and the silent scream twisting his mouth open glowed brightly too. In a single blinding flash, Duane's body sagged in the chair it was in, leaving nothing but a dead corpse in its wake.

The eerie silence afterward seemed to stretch on forever until Sam broke it, "Dean, tell me, please. what is it?"

"Sam I-." He began as he turned towards his brother. Only silence followed as Dean undoubtedly tried thinking of something- anything else than the truth.

"Dean! Just tell me what you know!" Sam shouted. Kate jumped slightly at Sam's sudden raised voice.

"I can't. I promised." Dean said it sounding muttered through clenched teeth. Kate knew that this conversation would be hard for him, but it was painful to watch Sam trying to yank information out of Dean like he was pulling teeth.

"What're you talking about?" Sam asked breathlessly as if Dean had gut-punched him.

"Look, right before Dad died. He told me something. Something about you." Kate watched Dean shift his weight uncomfortably.

"What? What'd he tell you?" Sam questioned. She could feel guilt welling up within her for not saying something sooner. She should have, regardless of Dean's request.

"He said that he wanted me to watch out for you, and take care of you."

"He told you that a million times." Sam butted in.

"No, this time was different, he said that… I had to save you…" Dean trailed off. Kate could see the pain lancing across his face as the next words were cut off.

"Dean. Save me from what?" Sam asked impatiently.

"He just said that I had to save you and that nothing else mattered, and if I couldn't then-."

"You'd what Dean?" Kate held her breath knowing what was to come next.

"I'd have to kill you," Dean stated quickly as he looked up at Sam unflinchingly.

Kate's eyes moved back to Sam, watching as Sam's face clouded over with confusion and anger.

"He said that I might have to kill you, Sammy," Dean stated clearly.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sam questioned, his voice getting loud. "He must've had some kinda reason for saying it, right? Did he know what this plan is? How could you not have told me this?!"

"Because it was dad, and he begged me not to-." Dean began to answer lamely.

"Who cares?!" Sam roared. "Take some responsibility for yourself, Dean!." Kate tensed as Sam seemed to move toward the center of the room.

"You think I wanted any of this? Huh?" Dean asked as he also moved towards Sam. "I wish to god that he'd never opened his mouth!" The boys were getting closer than Kate was comfortable with. She didn't want them to start trading blows as she knew that they had no qualms about it in the latter seasons of the show.

Her attention was pulled back to the scene before her as Dean continued yelling, "Then I wouldn't have to walk around with this screaming in my head all day!"

Sam finally turned away from Dean, he glanced over in Kate's direction with a hard look, letting her know she wasn't being let off the hook either. "What the hell does all this mean?" His words were harsh, but Kate was surprised by his tone losing a lot of the attitude that he'd taken up with Dean.

"Sam-," Dean began. His tone was annoyed.

"Don't!" Sam cut him off instantly.

Kate glanced between the two men before her. "Look, Kate if you know… anything. Please. I have to know more."

She took in a steadying breath as she fought to look away from Sam's classic expression that was always used to pull information from people. "Not here. Not now." She could see Sam's face change in anger, but she was quick to cut him off.

"Can we please get through this Croatoan virus? Can we figure out a way to get out of this freaking town before we dive into the next demonic can of worms, please?"

At Kate's words, she watched both of them seem to remember where they were. Sam and Dean sent each other a slight glare but seemed to be on the same page.

"How do you suppose we do that?" Dean questioned, irritated.

"Well…" Kate began, "I- uh. In the show, the whole thing ends when Sam gets infected by the nurse out there. As I said, it seems like this whole thing is a test run, for the virus… For you." At her last words, she glanced over to Sam.

"What happened when I got infected?" Sam asked cutting off whatever Dean was about to say.

Kate was met with a silent room, both awaiting her answer. "Well, nothing. Nothing happens, because you're… immune to it." As Kate answered she stared at Sam waiting for a reaction.

"Immune?" He asked perplexed. "Why am I immune?"

"Sam-." Dean began exasperated at how this conversation was turning out, but Kate cut him off this time.

"You have demon blood in you." She stated bluntly, more bluntly than she had meant to. The whole room seemed to freeze at her statement. Dean released a heavy breath while scrubbing his hand over his face tiredly while Sam appeared shell-shocked.

"The reason there was a fire in your nursery, along with some of the other special children is because Azazel himself went out and visited your homes. Where he then fed you his blood, since infancy it has been processed and replicated through your system, a side effect you get from it is your… visions." She finished. Kate paused staring over at Sam's slack-jawed face. "I'm sorry Sam. I really wanted to tell you sooner, but I didn't want to cause any-." She cut herself off, knowing she'd already said more than she should have.

Kate turned to see Dean sending her a dark look. "So much for holding off…" She heard him murmur. Kate rolled her eyes at his response to the situation at hand, there were bigger things to think about. She thought to herself with a shake of her head.

"You've known this? For how long?" Sam questioned, immediately and rightfully angry. His raised voice pulled her from her inner monologue. Dean remained silent as he crossed his arms and glared away from both of them. "How long?!" Sam hollered again.

"Since before we left Mississippi," Dean explained, "Kate told me that night we got to the hotel from Baltimore…" He trailed off.

"You've-." Sam cut himself off glancing around as if just remembering where they were. He suddenly turned back to Kate, "In your show, what happens in order for us to get out of here?"

"Well, I- uh. I already said-."

"Yeah, how do I get infected?" Sam asked impatiently. He obviously wasn't happy with her right now either.

"Well, P- Pam attacks you. She's infected herself. I don't know how far gone she is, but… she is." Before Kate knew it, Sam and Dean glanced at one another with worrying expressions before making a quick exit.

Kate closed the door behind her quickly as she watched the boys move into the other exam room doorway. The doctor was staring into a microscope as Pam stood over by the Sarge who was sitting on the exam table, they appeared to be chatting quietly.

"Pam. We- uh. We'd like to talk to you." Dean said as he gestured for her to follow them.

"Me? Wh- Why?" She asked, her round blue eyes meeting the two brothers.

"I think you know why," Kate stated as she moved forward, coming up behind the two guys. Pam's widening eyes seemed to bounce everywhere quickly. She glanced her red-ringed eyes towards the sergeant, whom she stood closest to, and then she looked at the Doc across the way.

The room suddenly turned as Pam's face changed on a dime. She roughly shoved the sergeant away from her, he fell off the table backward, landing on his back and, his feet in the air. Sam and Dean appeared to tense up as they sprung forward, ever on the offense. Pam had managed to grab a scalpel off of the nearby counter. She swiped at Sam who'd gotten there first, but he pulled back just quick enough to dodge it with a shout of surprise. Dean came up and moved to grip Pam's wrist, but she managed to slash the scalpel across his outstretched forearm. He cried out hissing at the pain, Sam made a move to tackle Pam to the ground but she managed to sidestep his attack. Kate was watching from standing between the fighting and the doctor, she stood with her handgun out, unable to do anything without the possibility of shooting one of the boys during the fight. The Sarge was up and had his gun out, but he couldn't get a shot off safely either.

A beat passed as Pam's eyes scanned everyone in the room. She stood over the brothers, she was obviously in fight or flight mode. She suddenly screamed in a fit of rage as she started running at Kate from across the small exam room. Kate tensed in preparation for a fight but flinched when she heard Dean's gun swiftly fire off two shots consecutively. Pam stilled in an instant before slowly dropping to the floor, first to her knees and then she keeled over on her side.

"Kate? You okay?!" She heard Dean shout from his position over the floor, he was still on his back with his arms outstretched straight; the gun still held up and pointed to where Pam had just stood. Kate released a breath as her body relaxed. She had a tight grip on her gun, it was still aimed at the same spot that Dean's had, she was fighting to regain her composure.

"Y-Yeah, I'm- We- We're good," Kate answered, her voice breathless from shock still. "What the hell are we supposed to do now?" Sam questioned into the shocked silence.

"We need to get out of this godforsaken town," Dean grumbled as he moved to stand up on his feet.

"I'm not sure we got much of a choice, but to wait it out," Sarge interrupted as he helped to pull Sam onto his feet as well. "A lot of folks up here are good with rifles. I mean, even with all your hardware, we're easy targets." He explained looking between Sam and Dean. "Unless you've got some explosives packed away…" He trailed off.

Kate knew where this was going as she watched Sam looking around. His eyes caught some shelving out by the nurse's station. "We could make some…" He trailed off.

Kate moved away from the group and out to the waiting room as she pried open the heavy wooden blinds with two fingers she took in the street outside. There wasn't a single soul out there. Night had fallen a while ago, but she was pretty certain that the test of the virus was over now. She assumed that if her hunch was right, given everything that she'd overheard from the demons combined with what she knew from interrogating the demon possessing Duane that if Pestilence had released this as a test it undoubtedly had a shelf life.

She knew from the show that Azazel was still trying to cover his tracks well enough not to be found out, so everyone in this town that was witness to tonight was at risk. Kate turned around at the sounds of footsteps.

"What is it?" Sam asked quickly. He moved to stand behind her.

"I- I think it's over." She told him softly.

"You think?" The doctor asked, her eyes wide and tinged red. It was clear that she was grieving the death of her coworker. "How could you possibly know that?" She asked her tone was sharp.

"We've learned to trust her hunches," Dean said as he moved between the Sarge and the doctor woman. "I'll go check-,"

"No." Sam interrupted him as he stood tall over Dean. "I'll go check it out. If we're going by what Kate said then I'm the one that has the least risk in going out there."

Sam's tone was a clear indication that he was still pissed off, but his focus was still on whatever was going on in town. "Gimme the keys, I'll make a trip around the block and see if the coast is clear." Dean's face was scrunched up in irritation, but he didn't fight Sam's logic as he slid the keys out of his leather jacket pocket.

"Be careful." That was all Dean said as he handed off the keys to the Impala. Kate wasn't sure if he was talking about Sam or if he was telling Sam to be careful with the car. She just barely fought back the smirk threatening to bloom on her face.

Sam rolled his eyes with a scoff as he moved to exit the doctor's office. The Sarge was quick to lock the place back up once Sam's tall frame exited the doorway.

"Hey Doc," Kate began slowly. "Have you checked on the blood work from the victims recently?" The doctor's eyebrows turned down before she wordlessly moved back toward the exam room where she'd been using the microscope.

Sarge moved back towards the ingredients that Sam had started to pull out as he began opening bottles to mix together for the explosives Dean moved closer to Kate by the window.

"I thought I told you that I'd tell Sam about all that?" He asked, his tone serious. "I mean c'mon, Kate what the hell was that back there?"

Kate's eyes glanced over at him without looking his way, she released a heavy sigh. "He deserves to know, Dean. It isn't up to you to decide what he's told about his own life." Kate stated now turning towards him wearing her own angry expression. Didn't he understand that she was trying to change things? She asked herself.

He opened his mouth to respond, his own angry expression revealing itself now, but he was cut off. "Guys?!" The doctor's voice called out, it wavered with uncertainty. Dean and Kate moved quickly back to the exam rooms, followed closely by the Sarge behind them.

"They- they're gone. All of them. All the- the bodies…" She trailed off with widened eyes.

The doctor moved quickly back to her microscope on the counter. "The- the virus… it's gone from the blood work too. How- how is this possible?" Her tone held as much shock as any sane person would have.

Kate spared an uneasy glance up at Dean, she knew that the demons were somehow tied to this disappearing act; she just didn't know how, but for now, she at least knew that they were all safe from the croatoan virus.

Thanks all for reading! Your read-throughs and reviews are greatly appreciated!