Ketch Me if You Can

Chapter 2

I pulled into a gas station a few miles away from Axtell, Kansas. It had been a long drive through old country roads and back ways to avoid attention from police, but I'd be home in just over 2 hours so it was worth it in every way. I'd get to hug the boys again and fill them in on everything that had happened. A smile crossed my lips as I remembered the first time I'd come back from one of these trips on the other side. We'd all been so confused.

I had woken up in control of Elizabeth Castle, a 19-year-old girl from Utah, after I'd been struck down by a djin during a hunt. I thought I'd died but very quickly figured out this was not the case. Days were spent in this weird new world, existing in the back of this girl's mind, watching a whole different life unfold around me. It was a whole month before I got back to me. By then the boys had buried me and I had to crawl my way up from the dirt. Thank god they hadn't given me a proper send-off. Remembering the looks on their faces when I came in through the door of the bunker made me laugh. Dean had nearly shot me with a salt gun and Sam had fallen backward out of his chair.

The gas line clicked, bringing me back to the present and letting me know the tank was full. I hung the line and walked into the gas station to buy a newspaper and some snacks for the road. I thanked the clerk and opened the paper to the not-so-popular 'conspiracy and supernatural happenings' page. With my head in the pages, I barely registered the sounds of a motorcycle passing on the road in front of me, but it wasn't anything to worry about. It was getting late, probably just someone trying to get home from work after a busy day.

I scanned the paper for anything worth noting but didn't find anything good. It was the usual Mothman sightings, people were saying it had made a dam break and flood a local town, and a passage about a fire that everyone thought was started by a phoenix, but I knew those were extinct so I paid no mind to it.

I sighed and threw the paper onto the passenger seat and popped a pop tart into my mouth before taking off down the road again. I wanted to make it a little further into Kansas before calling it a night.

I rolled into Washington, Kansas a little after midnight. I found the closest motel and bought a cheap room for the night. The man at the desk had given me creepy vibes so I'd have to make sure to check the lock on the door before going to bed. I hated traveling alone. It always invited unwanted attention.

I threw myself onto a bed and pulled my phone from my pocket, sending a quick text to Sam to let him know I was still ok. I hadn't checked in all day and I'd be kicking myself for it when I saw them tomorrow.

'Hey. Still alive. Made it to Washington. Gonna sleep at Washington Motel then finish the drive in the morning. See you soon. Tell Dean to calm his tits. I'm ok.'

I hit send and tossed it onto the nightstand next to the bed. I sighed and threw my dirty clothes onto the other bed, preferring to sleep in just my underwear than clothes I'd worn for weeks at this point. I stuffed the serrated knife under my pillow before laying down and slipping into unconsciousness.

I jolted awake, pulling the knife from under my pillow in one swift move and holding it across the throat of the intruder who hovered over me. For a few seconds, all I could hear was the pounding of a rainstorm outside the window and our breathing. A bolt of lightning illuminated the room and shone in those deadly mercury eyes.

"I should've known," I said, my grip on the knife tightening, "What do you want?"

"You really thought you got away that cleanly?" Ketch smirked.

"I thought you would have at least gotten the message that I was done with you and your little game." I glared at him, this man dared to not only kidnap me at my weakest point but then show up in my motel room in the middle of the night.