The Red Strokes

04. Phantom Traveler

As the door opened, Dean awoke and slipped a hand under his pillow for a weapon. He glanced at Delaney to see her fast asleep, periodically fidgeting, and angled his body in front of hers.

He turned to see Sam entering, followed by Elaina, carrying coffee and pastries.

"Morning, sunshine," Sam greeted, kicking at Delaney's bed, causing her to wake with a grumble.

"What time is it?" Dean asked groggily.

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

"In the morning?"

"Yep."

Delaney yawned and sat up as she rubbed her eyes and asked, "Sammy, Ela, you two get any sleep?"

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

"Liar," Dean said. "'Cause I was up at three, and you two 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 and your friends' alive, so we need you sharp."

Delaney stared at Sam. "Be honest, are you two still having nightmares about Jess? 'Cause I know I am, wished I could've done something to save her."

Sam crossed the room, sat on the other bed, handed a coffee to Dean and Delaney. "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 up at night?"

"Nope, never."

"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. I'm not even gonna question Saoirse's sword."

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

"Dean, it's uh, it's Jerry Panowski. You 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, Elaina and Delaney and they eyed him back.

---

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

Jerry greeted the brothers and the sisters. "Thanks for making the trip so quick. I ought to be doing you guys a favor, not the other way around. Dean 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.