PHANTOM

n a Motel, Dean, Sam and Elena are all asleep. Sam rustles in the bed, not getting comfortable, decides to go to the bathroom.

He splashes water on his face and dries it with a towel. When he's done, he leaves the bathroom and looks up to see something shocking.

Automatically, Sam rushes over to Dean and taps him. He sleeps soundly in one of the decorated chairs since Elena was sleeping in Dean's bed. Dean groans in his sleep, but doesn't move. Sam pushes him this time and when Dean doesn't move again, he slaps him on the face.

Dean gets up quickly. "Dude! Watch the face!" He yells and Sam shushes him.

"Look." Sam points to Elena's bed.

"What the hell...?" Dean says.

Sam and Dean both look over at Elena's bed. She was fast asleep with her hands on her stomach, like something you would see in a casket. The only odd thing was that she was hovering. Two feet above the bed.

"Should we wake her?" Sam asks his brother.

"I don't think we should." Dean says. "She could be possessed or something." Both brothers walk to the side of Elena's bed and just stare at her.

"Dean, she's something." Sam says. "At first I wasn't sure, but now I know."

Dean looks at Sam. "But what is she exactly." He says rhetorically.

Sam begins walking back, but accidentally trips on the chair. In an instant, Elena falls to the bed and opens her eyes. She looks at the brothers. "What happened?" She asked them. Sam and Dean exchange looks.

"You floated, like in some Houdini act or something." Dean says and Elena looked at them like they've lost their minds.

"Floated." She repeats.

Sam put his hand on his hip. "More like hovered, but that works too."

"I don't know what's happening to me." Elena says and shifts her weight so that her legs dangled off the bed.

Elena gets up on two feet as Dean and Sam back away defensively. "Woah, easy tiger." Dean says.

"I'm not gonna hurt you guys." Elena admits as she looks at them.

"Well that's a relief." Dean says sarcastically. "You can float, what else can you do?"

"I don't know, this is all so new to me." Elena says. "If we're ever gonna find out who or what I am, now is the time."

[ ☾]

young boy is watching TV in his bedroom. He hears a noise outside and looks out the window. A man is walking in a parking lot with two bags of garbage in his hands. The man throws the bags into a dumpster and starts walking back to his car.

He hears the same screeching noise and stops. He gets down on his knees and looks under the car. He sees something that horrifies him, although the audience does not see it, and stands up quickly.

An invisible force pulls him back to the ground, on his stomach. He is dragged under the car, screaming, until he is gone. The boy looks frightened and shuts the curtains.

n the boy's living room, Dean and Sam are dressed as Sheriffs, Elena a Deputy. They are talking to the boy and his mother. "I know you're just doing your job, but the police have been here all week already. I don't see why we have to go through this again. The more he tells the story, the more he believes it's true." The boy's mother, Mrs McKay says.

"Mrs. McKay, we know you spoke with the local authorities." Sam says.

"But, uh, this seems like a matter for the state police, so..." Dean says.

Elena interrupts. "Don't worry about how crazy it sounds, Evan. You just tell us what you saw." She says sweetly.

"I was up late, watching TV. When I heard this weird noise." Evan says.

"What did it sound like? Evan: It sounded like...a monster." Evan responds.

Dean and Sam exchange a look. "Tell the officers what you were watching on TV." Mrs McKay says to her son.

"Godzilla Vs. Mothra."

Dean smiles. "That's my favorite Godzilla movie. It's so much better than the original, huh?" He asks.

"Totally." Evan says.

"Yeah." Dean nods towards Sam. "He likes the remake."

"Yuck!" Evan exclaims.

Sam glares at Dean and clears his throat. "Evan, did you see what this thing was?" Sam asks.

"No. But I saw it grab Mr. Jenkins. It pulled him underneath the car." Evan says.

"Then what?" Elena asks the boy.

"It took him away. I heard the monster leaving. It made this really scary sound."

"What did it sound like, Evan?" Elena asks.

"Like this...whining growl."

Sam and Dean exchange another look. "Thanks for your time." Sam says.

[ ☼ ]

am is having a beer at a table, sitting with Elena and looking at research. Dean is nearby, throwing darts. "So, local police have now ruled out foul play. Apparently, there are worse signs of a struggle." Sam says.

"Well, they could be right, it could just be a kidnapping. Maybe this isn't our kind of gig." Dean says.

"Yeah, maybe not. Except for this—Dad marked the area, Dean." Sam says.

Dean comes to the table and looks at their father's journal. "Possible hunting grounds of a phantom attacker."

"Why would he even do that?" Sam asks.

"Well, he found a lot of local folklore about a dark figure that comes out at night. Grabs people, then vanishes. He found this too—this county has more missing persons per capita than anywhere else in the state."

Elena looks over at the journal. "That is weird." She says.

"Yeah." Sam replies.

"Don't phantom attackers usually snatch people from their beds? Jenkins was taken from a parking lot." Dean points out.

"Well, there are all kinds. You know, Springhill Jacks, phantom gassers. They take people anywhere, anytime." Sam says. "Look, Dean, I don't know if this is our kind of gig either."

Dean nods. "Yeah, you're right, we should ask around more tomorrow."

"Right." Sam says and takes out his wallet. "I saw a motel about five miles back."

"Whoa, whoa, easy. Let's have another round." Dean suggests.

"We should get an early start." Elena agrees.

"Yeah, you really know how to have fun, don't you, Grandma?" Sam smiles. "Alright, I'll meet you outside, I gotta take a leak." Dean grabs his coat and heads to the bathroom. Sam gathers his research and leaves. Elena follows.

Sam is walking back to the car. He hears a noise and stops. He places the journal on the hood of the car and takes out a flashlight from his coat pocket.

He turns it on and looks around, then bends down to look under the car. He sees a cat, which hisses at him then runs away.

"Whoa!"

He sees the animal and laughs at himself. He gets up, shaking his head, then waits by the car. The camera gives a view from under the car and focuses on Sam's feet.

Minutes later, Dean comes out of the bar and walks to the car. He sees that Sam is missing, but notices the journal on the hood and a knocked out Elena.

Dean opens the car door and checks to see if Sam is inside, but he isn't there. He looks around, confused. He then goes to Elena and moves to pick her up. Dean puts her in the front seat.

He closes the door and towards the bar. A group of people come out of the bar. Dean walks up to a biker and his girlfriend, who are clearly drunk.

"Hey, you guys been outside, around here in the last hour or so?" They shake their head and walk away. "Sam!" He looks around frantically. "Sammy!"

He turns around and notices a surveillance camera on top of a streetlight. Dean walks into the middle of the deserted road and looks around. "Sam."

t the nearby Sheriff's Department A Deputy, Kathleen is looking at Dean's fake ID. "So, what can we do for you, Officer Washington?" She asks.

"I'm working a missing persons." Dean says. He stands next to Elena. "I'm helping this young lady find her friend. Disappeared like Mr Jenkins."

"I didn't know the Jenkins case was being covered by the state police." Kathleen says.

"Oh, no. No, there's someone else. Actually, it's my cousin. We were havin' a few last night at this bar down by the highway. And I haven't seen him since." Dean says.

Kathleen looks up at Dean. "Does your cousin have a drinking problem?" She asks.

"Sam? Two beers and he's doin' karaoke." Dean jokes.

Kathleen smiles. "No, he wasn't drunk. He was taken." Elena says. Kathleen nods and sits down at her computer. Dean and Elena follow her and sit also.

"Alright. What's his name?" She asks.

"Winchester. Sam Winchester." Dean says.

"Like the rifle?" Kathleen asks.

"Like the rifle."

Kathleen types Sam's name in the computer and brings up his police record. She observes the page, then clicks on Dean's link and brings up his record. "Samuel Winchester. So, you know that his brother, Dean Winchester, died in St. Louis. And, uh, was suspected of murder." Kathleen says.

Dean tries to look nonchalant. "Yeah, Dean. Kind of the black sheep of the family. Handsome, though." Elena elbows Dean in the ribs.

"Uh-huh." She types something else and brings up more search results on the computer. "Well, he's not showing up in any current field reports." She says.

"Oh, I already have a lead. I saw a surveillance camera by the highway." Dean says.

"Uh-huh. The county traffic cam?" Kathleen asks.

"Right. Yeah. I'm thinking the camera picked up whatever took him. Or, whoever."

"Well, I have access to the traffic cam footage down at the county works department, but—well, anyhow, let's do this the right way."

Kathleen stands up and gets some paperwork from a filing cabinet. "Why don't you fill out a missing persons report and sit tight over here?" She hands him a clipboard.

"Officer, look, uh, he's family. I kind of—I kind of look out for the kid. You gotta let us go with you." Dean pleads.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that." Kathleen says.

"Well, tell me something. Your county has its fair share of missing persons. Any of 'em come back?" Kathleen looks sad. "Sam's my responsibility. And he's comin' back. I'm bringin' him back."

At an unkind location, Sam is asleep in a cage. He jerks awake and observes his surroundings. He rattles the bars of the cage. He looks around and notices Jenkins asleep in a cage next to his.

[ ☼ ]

ean and Elena sit on a bench outside. Kathleen comes behind them, holding printouts of the camera footage. "Greg. Elena. I think we've got something." She hands him the printouts and he looks through them. "These traffic cams take an image every three seconds, as part of the Amber Alert program. These images were all taken around the time that your cousin, Sam, disappeared."

"This really isn't what I'm looking for." Dean says, clearly disappointed.

"Just wait, wait—next one." Kathleen says and he turns the page and sees an image of a rusty truck driving. "This one was taken right after Sam left the bar. Look at the back end of that thing. Now, look at the plates."

Dean turns another page and sees a close-up image of the truck's license plates. "Oh, the plates look new. It's probably stolen." He says.

"So, whoever's driving that rust bucket must be involved." Elena says.

A beat-up van drives by. Its engine is whining loudly. "Hear that engine?" Dean asks.

"Yeah."

"Kind of a whining growl, isn't it?" Dean suggests and Elena knew what he was getting at.

"Sure." Kathleen says.

Dean stares at the van as it drives away. "I'll be damned." He says.

ack at the unknown location, Sam is trying to kick down the door of his cage, but he fails. Jenkins groans and wakes up. Sam rushes over to talk to him through the bars of their cages. "You're alive." Sam says. "Hey, you okay?"

"Does it look like I'm doin' okay?" Jenkins fires.

"Where are we?" Sam asks.

"I don't know. The country, I think. Smells like the country."

Sam looks at the man. "You're Alvin Jenkins, aren't you?" He asks.

"Yeah."

Sam sighs. "I was lookin' for ya."

"Oh, yeah?" Jenkins asks.

"Yeah."

Jenkins rattles in his cage. "Well, no offense, but this is a piss-poor rescue." He says.

"Well, my brother's out there right now, too. He's lookin' for us. So—" Sam says.

"So, he's not gonna find us. We're in the middle of nowhere." Jenkins nods towards the door leading into the building. "Waiting for them to come back and do God-knows-what to us."

"What are they? Have you seen them?" Sam asks.

Jenkins looks at him weirdly. "What are you talking about?" He asks Sam.

"Whatever's got us, what'd they look like?" Sam asks.

"See for yourself."

The door to the building opens and two men wearing black coats and hats walk in. One man walks over to Jenkins' cage and kicks the side of it. Jenkins moves back into the corner. The other man goes to a panel of buttons attached to a pole in the middle of the room.

He inserts a key into the panel and twists it. Jenkins' cage unlocks. The men enter. "Leave me alone! Don't you take me, leave me alone!" Jenkins yells.

The men place a plate of food in front of Jenkins. They leave the cage and walk over to the panel. One of the men twists the key again and removes it, which locks the cage. They leave, and Jenkins devours his food. "I'll be damned. They're just people." Sam says.

"Yeah. What'd you expect?" Jenkins asks.

"How often do they feed you?" Sam asks.

"Once a day. And they use that thing over there to open the cage."

He points to the panel. "And that's the only time you see 'em?" Sam asks.

"So far. But I'm waitin'." Jenkins says.

"Waitin' for what?"

"Ned Beatty time, man."

"I think that's the least of your worries right now." Sam says.

Jenkins scoffs. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"What do you think they want, then?" Jenkins asks.

Sam reaches through the top of his cage and grabs a long metal wire stretching from the top of the pole to the ground. He tries to pull it down. "Depends on who they are." He says.

"They're a bunch of psycho hillbilly rednecks, if you ask me. Lookin' for love in all the wrong places." Jenkins says. Sam continues to pull on the wire. It gradually starts to detach from the pole.