They made their way to the warehouse at dawn.
"You stay right here," Dean instructed - putting a machete in Ji-a's hands and leaving her at the door, "You decapitate anything that moves. Got it?"
"Got it," Ji-a agreed.
"You don't tell her to move unless she's in danger," Dean pointed at Sam.
"Understood," his younger brother confirmed.
"And Ji-a," Dean said, "Be as quiet as possible. They sleep in the day and our best bet is to take them out before they wake up."
Ji-a nodded.
She listened hard. Kept her head on a swivel. And when a groggy, half-dressed man stumbled out the warehouse door she swung her machete at his neck, cringing at the sound it made when it connected. She'd just killed a vampire. And it made her head swim and her mouth taste like bile. For a split second. Before someone hit her over the back of the head and the world was consumed with darkness.
Sam and Dean crept through the sleeping warehouse. They'd successfully decapitated eight of the vampires. And they were pretty certain that was all. But they couldn't be entirely sure. Not yet.
It took longer than either would have liked to find where they were keeping prisoners. Five young women and two men. Hands tied above their heads in a doorway. It took a fraction of a second for Dean to realize that the one on the far end, with a trickle of blood running down her chest, was Ji-a.
"How did she…" Sam trailed off. Trying to work out the logistics. Then a back door opened and a ninth - hopefully final - vampire stalked inside, blood on his hands.
"I've got it," Dean said, "Grab the others and I'll take care of Ji-a."
Dean swung his blade and charged before the vampire had even seen him. The creature's head thudded as it hit the ground.
Sam was on the second victim when Dean got to Ji-a. She was half conscious, but reacted immediately to his touch.
"I promise I stayed right where you told me," she mumbled.
"It's okay," Dean murmured, "You're okay. I believe you."
"I decapitated one of them," Ji-a said, her voice a little stronger. The thought made her stomach turn and she spit up bile onto her feet.
"You're okay," Dean assured her, looping one arm under her shoulders and reaching up to cut the ropes around her hands. They hadn't even had a chance to bite her by the looks of it. But when he moved his hand to cradle the back of her head it came away bloody.
"Let's get you to the car, okay?" He said gently.
"Where's Lucy?" Ji-a asked, still dazed and limp.
"She's right here," Dean assured her, "We're gonna call the police and they'll take her to the hospital. Okay?" "But I have to be there for her," Ji-a protested.
"You can stop by after, alright?" Dean said, "You're gonna let me patch you up first."
"Okay," Ji-a slumped against his chest, "You're not gonna…" "You didn't do anything wrong," Dean said, "You did such a good job. And you killed your first monster. So just as soon as we clear you from any head injury…we're gonna celebrate. Alright?"
Ji-a nodded as Dean gathered her into his arms.
"Now don't you dare fall asleep on me," he instructed.