Stranger

Chapter 17

"Here we are," Nevaeh says in a palpable tone, throwing her arms in the air. She turns to Sam and takes a sip of her coffee. "Now, what the fuck are we doing back here at 5:30 in the morning?"

"Princess gets cranky without her beauty sleep," Dean mocks and she kicks his shin.

"Watch your tone," Sam jabs his finger in Nevaeh's direction and she sticks her tongue out at him. "I realized something. The videotape shows the killer going in, but not coming out."

"He came out the back door," Nevaeh says plainly. "Ta-da. Mystery solved. Now let's go back to the motel," she groans.

"Right," Sam says, "so, if he went through the back door, there should be a trail to follow. A trail the police would never pursue," Sam starts walking across the street. Dean nods. "Because they think the killer never left," he yells from the other side of the street and Nevaeh grips the side of her head. Dean chuckles and Nevaeh throws him daggers with her eyes. "You find my pain and suffering amusing?" She asks. Dean grins and says a little louder, "they caught your friend Zach inside."

"Asshole," she rolls her eyes. "I still don't know what we're doing here at 5:30," she murmurs. Nevaeh watches as Sam bends down, moving closer to a pole. Then he turns to them. "Blood," he says. "Somebody came this way."

"Maybe the trail ends, I don't see anything over here," Nevaeh says, pretending to have looked around, just as an ambulance comes speeding down the street. The three share looks. Nevaeh rolls her eyes and sighs, walking back over to the car.

Dean parks across the street from a house where police have just started putting up crime scene tape. Dean walks over to a random lady who looks as if she'd just paused on her daily jog. "What happened?" Dean asks her.

"Uh, he tried to kill his wife. Tied her up and beat her."

"Really?" Sam asks and the girl nods. "Yeah, I used to see him going to work in the morning. He'd wave, say hello. He seemed like such a nice guy," the lady says, watching as the confused man is put into the cop car.

Nevaeh gets Sam and Dean's attention, jabbing her thumb behind her. "I'm gonna go look back there," she says and they nod.

Nevaeh walks behind the house, checking for any signs of a trail. Not long after looking around, though, she hears Dean call her name and Sam saying, "told you so."

"Hey, so remember when I said this wasn't our kind of problem?" He says and Nevaeh nods. "Definitely our kind of problem," he expresses.

"Well, what'd you find out?" Nevaeh asks.

"We just talked to the patrolman who heard this guy Alex's story. Apparently the dude was driving home from a trip when his wife was attacked," Dean says.

"So he was two places at once," Nevaeh says. "Sounds familiar."

"Exactly. Then he sees himself in the house, cop says he's a nut job."

"Nevaeh nods, her eyes slightly squinted, and she begins pacing, taking three steps. "Two dark doubles attacking loved ones in exactly the same way. Most likely the same thing. What we thinking?" She turns, glancing between the two Winchesters.

Sam shrugs. "Shapeshifter? Something that can make itself look like anyone?"

Dean nods. "Every culture in the world has a shapeshifter lore. Legends of creatures who can transform themselves into animals or other men."

"Right. Skinwalkers, werewolves," Sam starts and Nevaeh tilts her head to the side.

"Yeah, but it isn't a full moon. Two attacks within blocks of each other, I'm betting we have a shapeshifter in the neighborhood." Nevaeh pauses, and looks around. "In any of that shapeshifter lore," she starts walking back towards the back of the house, "can any of them fly?"