3. Intrusion

I can always sneak into an empty room and bunk there for the night. Maybe I'll get a few days out of staying there. But I had other issues. I was still going to need new clothes, need a washer and dryer to use to get the clothes smelling fresh. And there was the matter of scoring some cash so I couldn't be detected.

I almost felt like I was putting Sam in danger, by walking with him. A cop car had drove by us, and I turned my face away so the police wouldn't see. I knew Sam had watched me from the corner of his eye, but he didn't say anything to me.

I adjusted the strap of my backpack on my shoulder. Though it was a simple black backpack and looked massive, it was very light. All I had in there were clothes that surprisingly didn't smell yet. They should have a laundromat somewhere close by. I'll have to do some digging when we get there.

"So...you ended up here," Sam tried to break the silence.

"Yeah. I found a nice college here, and everybody seemed intent on following me down." A faint smile touched my lips at the memory.

"How is your family anyway?"

"Fine." I tried my hardest to sound normal.

"Why can't you go back home?"

"It's complicated." I blew out air noisily. My eyes fell to the sidewalk. "Things have gotten a lot tougher since high school, Sam. I didn't realize being an adult would be such a big pain in the ass."

"That's life for you."

"You still never answered my question, about why you're in town."

I lost Sam at that. I wrinkled my nose in frustration. I should have known that he wouldn't open up like he used to. Time had changed both of us, caused us to become entirely different people than we knew the other to be in high school.

After a while, we approached the Regent Inn Motel. It looked pretty desolate with the lack of cars in the parking lot. I did notice the famous '67 Impala in one of the parking slots.

"Your dad hand it down to you?" I asked.

"What?"

I nodded. "The car."

"Oh. No, that's Dean's."

"Still looks like how I remember it." We passed by the old car, which didn't look aged at all. What I wouldn't give to at least have a car with me. Don't even think about trying to hotwire that thing. Sam graciously paid for your dinner, don't stab him in the back by stealing his brother's car. I couldn't help it, the survivalist in me had a hard time of shutting itself up when I wanted it to.

We passed a few rooms, all either vacant or occupied. I stopped at one of the rooms, peeking into one of the windows. I heard Sam open the next door over on my right. From the corner of my eye, I saw him run inside his room. I dropped my bag and ran right after him.

I skidded to a halt as I took in the scene in the tiny room.

There were four people: three men, one woman. An older gentleman who looked like he belonged in the woods (in a good way, not a homeless way) was on the floor, a dark-red wet spot forming on his stomach. The knife was still lodged in him. The one man held another one down as the woman pummeled the other man.

"No!" Sam yelled.

This got the woman's attention. Sam moved inward, I remained in the doorway. The two men continued to wrestle around on the floor. I rushed for the bleeding older man on the floor, but a force sent me flying backwards into Sam. He helped me steady on my feet.

"Heya, Sammy," the woman said. "You miss me? 'Cause I sure missed you."

"Meg?" Sam asked. The woman grinned.

Sam pushed me aside to take on this Meg woman, striking at her but missing. I gasped as Meg kicked Sam right in the worst place possible before knocking him to the ground.

"It's not so easy without those super-special demon powers, huh, Sammy?" Meg crooned.

The one word almost catapulted me into shock. No. Fight through it. You're here, don't run. Help them! Just as Meg was going to hit Sam, I got right in between them. She looked at me, amused.

"Oh, sweetheart, this isn't your fight," she told me. "You better run along before you get hurt."

"I'm not afraid of you." With a battle cry, I swung at her. The other fight's noises were still going on.

Meg ducked easily, cackling at my pathetic attempt. I went into a flurry of punches and kicks. When I got a hit, I saw the rage in her eyes. I swallowed hard as the whites of her eyes became pitch black. Son of a bitch. I could feel the fear battling with my courage inside of me.

Now wasn't the time to back down, let alone to a scum creature like her.

The gap between Meg and I shrank the more I advanced on her. I was sure I was hurting myself more than her. I elbowed her in the face, and with a flick of her wrist, she sent me flying over Sam, who was just getting to his feet, and into the wall. I cried out as I lay on my side, feeling my back spasm.

I watched in horror as Meg resumed her attack on Sam. She landed a hard punch on him. My eyes widened as I watched the men squaring off. The one man swept the other man's feet out from under him. He ripped the knife out of the older man's stomach (which made me cringe a little) and forced the knife into the other man's chest. I didn't cower into the wall as I watched. The knife-wielder rose from his crouch, facing Meg, who finally decided to stop hurting Sam.

Despite the intensity of the situation, I took a proper look at the man. He was very tall, like most men, packed on at least two layers, like Sam. His hair was short and hard to make out the color, so I settled for a light brown or dirty blond color. His eyes were green.

I knew from the multilayers on him that this had to be Sam's brother, Dean.

Dean advanced on Meg. But Meg screamed, and thick black smoke spewed out of her mouth, flying out the window, tearing it into shreds as it disappeared. That had me cowering in the corner. The woman collapsed on the floor, the smoke was nowhere in sight.

There was an eerie silence that fell over the room. I curled my knees to my chest, resting my head between them. I heard the brothers' voices, but not what they were saying. My pulse was too loud in my ears, my hysteria was coming back to me. The smoke did me in. Not the soulless black eyes that Meg had revealed to me. Not even the word "demon" had reduced me to this.

"We've got to get him out now," I heard Dean's voice urge. "Come on, help me carry him."

I picked my head up to see the brothers carrying the older man between the two of them. He looked like he was barely hanging on, the stabbed man. I shook, watched as they all got to their feet. They began to hobble out of the room.

"Dakota, you coming?" Sam asked as they passed me.

"Are you sure?" I asked quietly.

"We'll need someone in the back to keep an eye on him. Come on."

I quickly got to my feet and tailed the brothers out of the motel room. I snatched my bag as they made their way to the Impala. They lowered the man in, and I climbed in beside him. He looked barely alive, very pale, like he was on his last breaths.

The brothers climbed in the front seats, and Dean started the roaring engine. At almost a breakneck speed, we tore out of the motel parking lot and headed for the nearest hospital.

"Who're you?" the bleeding man beside me asked.

"I-I'm Dakota," I said weakly. "Don't worry, I'm a friend of Sam's. I'm here to help."

"The name's Bobby, Dakota." He coughed.

"Take it easy. Just rest."

It was almost like he waited for permission to conk out, because Bobby's eyes closed almost instantly. Now all I had to do was watch to make sure he didn't go out in his sleep.

"So, we're picking up hitchhikers now, is that it?" Dean asked from the driver's seat. I looked at him through the mirror up front.

"Sorry if I crashed your reunion back there." I sniffed.

"Remind me again why you're here."

"Your brother said you need an extra hand. Do you mind not trying to kill us all with your driving, while you're at it?" The speedometer was dangerously climbing. We were booking about 70. I had no doubt he wasn't at his ideal speed limit.

"Sorry if I want to save his life. I think you owe us an introduction, Sam."

"Dakota, Dean. Dean, Dakota," Sam retorted.

"I'll need a little more than that."

"We were friends in high school. We ran into each other."

"And she followed you back like a lost puppy?"

"She was looking into getting a room."

"I was," I agreed with Sam. It wasn't a lie. I just wasn't checking into a room the normal, right way.

Dean's eyes looked at me through the mirror, laced with suspicion and distrust. I didn't blame him. Why would he trust me when he'd never heard of me until tonight? I refocused back on Bobby, watching for the signs of life: nostrils moving, chest moving, twitches. He had to be in pain; he probably passed out from the intensity of it.

I made myself as small as possible between the car door and Bobby. I tried to use my backpack so as to not hurt my back further with the car door. It was just as uncomfortable. I tossed the pack onto the car floor and curled into a ball, looking at Bobby and out through the other window, waiting to arrive to get the proper help.

**Like I said, part 1's name was for a reason.

Dakota had to fit in the story somewhere. Don't worry, she and Sam aren't gonna fall in love easily and then halfway through the book get married. Hell no. Uh-uh. That may work out in some stories, but not this. NONE of my stories will EVER have that in them. She has a backstory, and, as the story goes on, you'll learn it. Bit by bit.

Besides, this is SUPERNATURAL, the show that gives very little sunshine and a whole lot of darkness.**