Bless the Broken Road

04. Phantom Traveler

As the door opened, Dean awoke and slipped a hand under his pillow for a weapon. He glanced at Zach to see his eyes opening.

The brothers turned to see Sam entering, carrying coffee and pastries.

"Morning, sunshine," Sam greeted.

"What time is it?" Dean and Zach asked groggily.

"Uh, it's about 4:45."

"In the morning?"

"Yep."

Zach rubbed his eyes and sat up before asking, "Sammy, you get any sleep?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I grabbed a couple hours."

"Liar," Dean said. "'Cause Zach and I were up at three, and you were watching a George Foreman informercial."

"Hey, what can I say? It's riveting TV."

"When was the last time you got a good night's sleep?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't know, a little while, I guess. It's not a big deal."

"Yeah, it is."

"Look, I appreciate your concern-"

"Oh, I'm not concerned about you. It's your job to keep my ass andZach's alive, so we need you sharp."

Zach looked at his younger brother. "You still having nightmares about Jess?"

Sam crossed the room, sat on the other bed, handed a coffee to Dean and Zach. "Yeah. But it's not just her. It's everything. I just forgot, you know? This job. Man, it gets to you."

"You can't let it," Dean told him. "You can't bring it home like that."

"So, what? All this it... never keeps you two up at night?" Dean and Zach shook their heads. Sam continued and looked at his brothers. "Never? You're never afraid?"

"No, not really."

Sam reached under Dean's pillow to pull out a large hunting knife and held it up as evidence.

Dean took the knife back. "That's not fear. That is precaution."

"All right, whatever. I'm too tired to argue."

Dean's phone rang and he answered. "Hello?"

"Dean, it's uh, it's Jerry Panowski. You, your brother and your dad helped me out a couple years back."

"Oh, right, yeah. Up in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, the poltergeist thing. It's not back, is it?"

"No. No. Thank God, no. But it's something else, and... uh, I think it could be a lot worse."

"What is it?"

"Can we talk in person?"

Dean eyed Sam and Zach and they eyed him back.

---

The Impala drove down the road and eventually, they reached the hangar.

Jerry greeted the three Winchesters. "Thanks for making the trip so quick. I ought to be doing you guys a favor, not the other way around. Dean, Zach and your dad really helped me out."

"Yeah, he told me," Sam said with a nod. "It was a poltergeist?"

"Poltergeist? Man, I loved that movie," a man stated.

Zach chuckled lightly at the man's comment and grinned.

"Hey, nobody's talking to you. Keep walking," Jerry told him. "Damn right it was a poltergeist, practically tore our house apart. Tell you something. If it wasn't for you, your brother and your dad, I probably wouldn't be alive. Your dad said you were off at college. Is that right?"