Standing in the Storm

09. Scarecrow

Sam, Dean, Levi, Ethan and Tasie were sleeping. Dean's phone rang, but he and Levi didn't wake up.

"Dean. Levi," Sam and Tasie called, but they didn't wake.

Sam answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Sam, is that you?" John asked from a payphone in California.

Sam sat up in bed. "Dad? Are you hurt?"

Tasie moved to her twin's bed.

"I'm fine."

"We've been looking for you everywhere," Sam told him as Tasie sat next to him. "We didn't know where you were, if you were okay."

"Sammy, I'm all right. What about you, Dean,  Tasie, Levi and Ethan?"

Dean and Levi were slowly waking up.

"We're fine. Dad, where are you?"

Dean sat up in bed and Levi raised his head over the couch.

"Sorry, kiddo, I can't tell you that."

"What? Why not?"

"Is that Dad?" Dean asked.

"Look, I know this is hard for you to understand. You're just gonna have to trust me on this."

"You're after it, aren't you?" Sam questioned. "The thing that killed Mom."

"Yeah. It's a demon, Sam."

"A demon? You know for sure?"

"A demon?" Dean repeated. "What's he saying?"

"I do. Listen, Sammy, I, uh... I also know what happened to your girlfriend. I'm so sorry. I would've done anything to protect you from that."

"You know where it is?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I think I'm finally closing in on it."

"Let us help."

"You can't. You can't be any part of it."

"Why not?"

"Give me the phone," Dean demanded.

"Listen, Sammy, that's why I'm calling. You, your brother, your nephew, your sister and her husband, you gotta stop looking for me. All right, now, I need you to write down these names."

"Names?" Sam repeated. "What names, Dad -- talk to me, tell me what's going on."

"Look, we don't have time for this. This is bigger than you think, they're everywhere. Even us talking right now, it's not safe."

"No. All right? No way."

"Give me the phone," Dean said again.

"I have given you an order. Now, you stop following me and you do your job. You understand me? Now, take down these names."

Dean took the phone from Sam. "Dad, it's me. Where are you?" ... "Yes, sir." ... "Uh, yeah, I got a pen. What are their names?"

They got into the Impala and drove off.

"All right, so, the names Dad gave us, they're all couples?" Sam asked.

"Three different couples," Dean replied. "All went missing."

"And they're all from different towns? Different states?" Tasie questioned.

"That's right. You got Washington, New York, Colorado. Each couple took a road trip cross-country. None of them arrived at their destination, and none of them were ever heard from again."