Sam researched the whole time we were at Bobby's. He wasn't looking for new cases. I was convinced he was searching for a unicorn. There are no loopholes to demon deals. You get what you sign up for.

Dean, on the other hand, was living the high life. Every reckless decision he could make, he did. Between his boozing and hoeing around, Sam and I were both ready to get the hell out of that house, and it'd only been a week.

"Hey, Bobby," Sam said.

I poked my head out of the kitchen to try and overhear his conversation in Bobby's study. 

"Same old, same old." Sam pulled the demon book onto his lap. He had to have read it at least three times by now. "Then where, Bobby?"

I leaned against the doorframe of the study. Sam's eyes briefly flicked to me before he closed the book in front of him. I never chewed him out for rereading it, but I think he sensed my lack of hope.

"Polling the electorate." A smile broke out across his face. I didn't see that enough these days. I smiled, too. "Never mind."

Bobby said something else and then Sam hung up. 

"Does he have a hunt for us?" I asked.

Sam stood. "I think so."

"You getting Dean or should I?" I asked.

Sam squeezed past me. "I don't think you want to be anywhere near there right now. I certainly don't."

I continued making the peanut butter and jelly sandwich I planned on having for dinner as Sam made his way up the stairs. Last I knew, he was entertaining twins. Bless Sam's soul for braving the sight of Dean.

With my sandwich in hand, I walked into Bobby's study. Curious about why Sam was so deadset on reading this damn thing so many times, I pushed open the cover and flipped through a few of the pages. He underlined a bunch of stuff, but I couldn't see the connection between the topics.

"Leaving whenever he's done." Sam rubbed his eyes.

I rubbed his arm. "Did you see more than you wanted?"

"That's an understatement." Sam continued rubbing as if he could get rid of the memory.

"Thanks for taking the metaphorical bullet." I brushed past him to go pack my duffle. "We could always pay him back, you know."

Sam stopped trying to erase the image burned into his eyes and chuckled. He looked at me with slightly bloodshot eyes and raised his brows when he realized I was serious. "I'll think about it."

I passed the two blonde bimbos on the stairs. They giggled with each other. Their faces glowed bright red. I smiled awkwardly as I forced my way around them. 

We all packed in little to no time—Sam and I had never unpacked when we got back from Spokane and just needed to grab the last of the essentials—and hit the road. Despite my protest, we took the Impala again. I didn't want my Roadrunner to get rusty sitting out all the time without getting driven.

"Melanie, can I borrow your knife?" Sam asked.

"What for?" I furrowed my brows as I reached for my boot knife.

Sam met his brother's eyes in the rearview mirror. I loved that he chose to sit with me even though I told him he didn't have to. "To gouge my eyes out."

Dean got serious. "It was a beautiful, natural act, Sam."

The two of us in the back exchanged disgusted looks.

"It's a part of you I never wanted to see, Dean." Sam shivered at the memory.

Dean chuckled. "Hey, I appreciate you giving me a little quality time with the Doublemint Twins."

"No problem." Sam beat me to say something. I wasn't going to be that nice.

"Really?" Dean shrugged. "Well, I got to say, I was expecting a weary sigh or an eye roll, something."

"Not at all." Sam nudged me. "You deserve to have a little fun." What does that mean?

"Well, I'm in violent agreement with you there." Dean shook his head as he smirked widely.

"What's Bobby got?" I asked.

Sam sighed. "Not much. Crop failure and a cicada swarm outside of Lincoln, Nebraska. Could be demonic omens."

"Or could just be a bad crop and a bug problem," Dean said.

"Yeah, but it's our only lead." I crossed my arms. "We all needed a hunt."

"Any freaky deaths?" Dean met my eyes in the mirror.

Sam shook his head. "No, nothing Bobby could find—not yet, anyway."

"It's weird, man. I mean, the night the devil's gate opened, all these weirdo storm clouds were sighted over how many cities?" Dean asked.

"Seventeen," Sam and I said in unison.

"Seventeen." Dean shook his head. "You think it would be 'Apocalypse Now,' but it's been five days and bubkis." He almost seemed like he wanted there to be an apocalypse. "What are the demons waiting for?"

"Beats me." Sam shrugged and draped his arm around my shoulders.

"It's driving me crazy. I tell you, if it's gonna be war, I wish it would just start already," Dean said.

I snuggled closer to Sam. "I don't know, Dean. Be careful what you wish for."

"Go ahead and get some rest," Sam said. "We both know you haven't been sleeping much."

He was right. It'd been since before that night the hell gate broke open since I'd slept more than three or four hours at a time. I kept seeing flashes of everything that happened. Sometimes, when I dreamed, I could feel Bee's cold arms around me. I know it wasn't healthy, but I usually wanted to stay there longer...maybe not even wake up.

The world around me faded as I felt a deep exhaustion settle over me.

*****

"Melanie," Bee's voice called as I stood in the graveyard once more.

I looked around. The devil's gate was closed. No one was with me. There weren't any black clouds swirling around.

"Bianca?" I called.

Her shimmery, silver figure appeared in front of me. "Mel, you have to listen to me. We don't have much time."

Cold fingers rested on my shoulders. "What is it?"

"You can't trust her. She's no good. You hear me? She's one of them. It doesn't matter what she does. She can't be trusted."

"Who? Who can't be trusted?" I asked.

Bee's head snaped to the left. I looked where she was looking but didn't see or hear anything.

I woke up with a gasp.

"Woah, you okay?" Sam asked. His arm had still been resting around me.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

Sam shrugged. "Maybe two hours."

Looking out the window, I saw the gray lights of dawn were starting to peek over the horizon. Like always, it didn't feel like two hours. I didn't feel rested. 

"Melanie, what just happened?" Sam leaned forward so he blocked my view.

"Nothing. Just a bad dream is all." I felt bad keeping this from him, but I didn't want to worry him prematurely. There was no evidence to say it was really Bee. It might have just been my brain trying to process the memory.

"How about we stop for food, huh? That'll perk you up." Dean smiled.

I shook my head. "Not food. Maybe coffee though."

"We just got Lincoln." Sam looked out the window. "I'm sure we can find somewhere."

Even though it was hardly six in the morning, we found a small diner open. Somehow, Dean convinced them to make him a cheeseburger. I tapped my foot against the linoleum as we waited for this burger to cook fully. My coffee helped me wake up some but didn't relieve the tiredness from my bones.

The sun had fully risen and shined on us when we finally pulled into the driveway to the house Bobby wanted us to meet him at. When we stepped out of the Impala, I noticed something right away.

"Hear those cicadas?" I asked.

Dean looked around at the fields that surrounded us. "That can't be a good sign."

"No. No, it can't." Sam looked up at Bobby who made his way toward us.

"So, we're eating bacon cheeseburgers for breakfast, are we?" Bobby's eyes judged Dean.

"Well, I sold my soul. Got a year to live. I ain't sweating the cholesterol." He took another large bite of the burger.

Bobby's eyes traced over the other two of us in turn as well. He'd been out doing his own thing for a few days. Dean theorized he had a woman somewhere. I had a feeling he was checking with connections and asking about deals. None of us were without coping mechanisms, but some of us were coping better than others.

When he surveyed me, I could tell I looked thin. A bit of worry drew lines across his face, but Bobby didn't say anything. I wondered if Sam had picked up on my weight loss. I really didn't weigh much, to begin with, so it was unlikely.

"So, Bobby, what do you think? We got a biblical plague here or what?" Sam asked.

"Well, let's find out. Looks like the swarm's ground zero." Bobby gestured toward the house. 

Dean took the lead with Bobby behind him then Sam and I in the back. With a knock on the door, Dean said, "Candygram!"

There was no answer, so Dean carefully picked the lock. As we all filed in, an overwhelming smell hit all of us. The house reeked of death. Panic started to swell in my chest as my palms grew sweaty against my gun. I covered my nose and tried to calm myself down.

"That's awful." Sam held his hand to his nose.

Dean pressed on. "That so can't be a good sign."

Continuing into the second room of the house, Bobby peeled off to check some of the other rooms down the hall. As much as I was fighting to remain calm, I stuck to Sam's side like I was made of velcro. 

Faint, panicked screams came from another room. My heart lept to my throat. Regain control.

"You hear that?" Sam asked.

They kicked the door to the next room open. Though I didn't think it was possible, the smell amplified. Three people sat on the couch but didn't budge an inch with our intrusion. Either they were invested in the show that was on—which was probably where the screaming came from—or they were the source of that terrible stench.

"Oh, my god." Sam lowered his gun.

Bobby appeared on the other side of the room. He recoiled in horror, which told me they were dead. It felt like the world was tilting under my feet.

"Bobby, what the hell happened here?" Sam asked.

"I don't know." Bobby pressed a hand to his chest as if he was saying a blessing.

"Check for sulfur." Dean moved toward the windows. 

"Yeah." Bobby and Sam fanned out. I remained where I was as if my feet had sprouted roots.

You've seen dead bodies before. Why is this so upsetting? Get a grip.

A creek sounded from the front porch. Dean's head snapped to the left. For a brief moment, I was back in my dream. A soft whistle from Dean brought me back to reality. He waved his hand around telling us to spread out while he investigated the sound.

Sam grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the living room. We circled around the back of the house and crept toward the front. At the sound of Dean grunting, Sam dropped my hand and raced to the front. I stopped where I was again. 

I wasn't sure if I was swaying or the world was shifting. The sun felt too bright and hot. Falling to my hands and knees, I wretched but nothing came up. Sam swam in my vision as he rounded the house coming back to me. It almost seemed like there were multiple of him.

"Melanie?" Sam rushed to my side but my world was already fading.

Everything turned black as Sam knelt in the grass beside me.