𝐃𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐍

𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄

"We're Troy's uncles—I'm Dean, this is Sammy. This is my girlfriend, Kat." For emphasis, Dean threw his arm over Katherine's shoulders and tugged her closer. While Sam glowered at the old nickname, Katherine plastered on a most convincing smile. 

"He never mentioned you to me," Amy says, starting up the street with a quick suspicious glance over the Winchesters. 

"Well, that's Troy, I guess," Dean tells her. "We're up in Modesto—"

"So we're looking for him too," Sam cuts in, moving in front of Dean and Katherine to wedge himself before Amy. "And we're kind of asking around." Katherine's eyes settle on an approaching girl just over Amy's shoulder. "Would you mind if we asked a couple of questions?"

"Are you all right?" The approaching girl asks, wearing an expression of concern.

"Yeah," Amy says to her. Then she looks to the three hunters and nods. "This is my friend Amber. We can go in here," she says, gesturing to the door beside them. Dean leads Katherine to the door after Amy and her friend, dropping his arm from her shoulders. She tauntingly rolls her shoulders at the lack of weight.

The group orders coffee for themselves.

"When is the last you heard from Troy?" Sam asks.

"He was driving," Amy answers, tearing open a small container of creamer. "He said he'd call right back, but...he never did." She stirs the beverage briefly before wrapping both hands around the mug.

"Did he say anything strange or out of the ordinary?"

"No," the redhead replies, shaking her head. "Nothing that I can remember."

"Here's the deal, ladies," Dean says. "The way Troy disappeared—something ain't right. So if you've heard anything..."

The two girls opposite the hunters glance to each other. "What?" Katherine prompts.

"Well, it's just..." Amber shrugs. "With all these guys going missing, people talk."

"What do they talk about?" The Winchesters chorus. It was almost comical.

Amber looks to her hands, lips parted, as if she's trying to find the words. "It's kind of...like a local legend," she begins, eyes lifting to the men. "This one girl, she got murdered out on Centennial, like, decades ago. Well supposedly, she's still out there. She hitchhikes, and whoever picks her up...well, they disappear forever." 

"So you think that's what could have happened to Troy?" Sam asks. The two girls shrug. 

"Thanks for your help," Dean says, moving to stand, and Katherine follows after him. "We'll be in touch if we find something."

"Girl murdered on the highway," Katherine hums, jamming her hands into her pockets as she walks up the street with the Winchesters. "Anyone know where a directory is?"

"The highway is that-a-way," Dean says, pointing east.

Katherine shakes her head. "No, I need to find a library." 

"I think I saw one just around the block," Sam volunteers. Katherine beams and slides into the backseat of the Impala, waiting for Dean to turn the key in the ignition.

The librarian informs them that only one computer is working, and if it isn't occupied, they're free to use it. She points a withered finger towards the back left corner, and the hunters follow. Dean tries to keep a step ahead of the other two, but it proves to be difficult when Sam has a few inches on him and Katherine isn't much shorter than Dean is. So, once they round the corner, and Dean lays eyes on the single available monitor, Dean breaks into a sprint.