~*****~
Dean's POV

I gazed down at the print on the window sill, memories flickering through my mind like a projector. I would never forget that night. I promised I would never forget it....

My eyes caught sight of the photo Dad had laying on the table. It looked like a black hand print or something. I paused in my step as I tried to get a closer look at the black, rotted wood. I heard a subtle click behind me, and I turned to see Dad loading his gun. "Alright. You know the drill, Dean. Anybody calls, you don't pick up. If it's me, I'll ring once, then call back. You got that?" He instructed.

"Mm-hmm. Only answer unless it rings once first." I replied in a bored tone.

"Come on, dude, look alive. This stuff is important." He scolded. I sighed gently.

"I know, it's just... we've gone over it like a million times and you know I'm not stupid." I reminded him as I followed him. He walked over to the motel sink.

"I know you're not, but it only takes one mistake, you got that?" He warned as he turned back around to look at me. I nodded once and he continued to gather his things. "Alright, if I'm not back Sunday night...?"

"Call Pastor Jim." I recalled.

"Lock the doors, the windows, close the shades. Most important-" He sighed, pointing a finger at me and picking up his bag, moving towards the door.

"Watch out for Sammy and Carlotta." I said with a sigh. I glanced over my shoulder, gazing at my brother curled up underneath Lottie's arm, watching cartoons while she gazed at the screen in boredom. "I know."

"Alright. If something tries to bust in?" He asked expectantly. I sighed again, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. It was the same every time he left, but I knew it was needed.

"Shoot first, ask questions later."

"That's my man." He praised, clasping a hand onto my shoulder. I smiled and locked the door behind him.

~*****~

"Dean!" I hear Lottie snap, shunting me out of my memories. I looked over at her, seeing that concern written over her face. She must've called out to me a few times.

I cleared my throat and stood back from the window, a sick feeling twisting in my stomach. "I know why Dad sent us here. He's faced this thing before. He wants us to finish the job."

~*****~

Night had fallen as we pulled into the motel parking lot, our gazes flickering to the brightly lit vacancy sign. I parked the Impala outside the office and got out. "So, what the hell is a Shtriga?" Sam asked.

"Its.... kinda like a witch, I think. I don't know much about 'em." I explained as I moved to the trunk. Sam and Lottie gazed at me in confusion as I started to pack the duffel.

"Well, I've never heard of it. And it's not in Dad's journal."

"Dad hunted one in Fort Douglas, Wisconsin, about 16 to 17 years ago. You and Lottie were there. You don't remember?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at them.

"No," Sam replied, looking over at Lottie, who in turn shrugged.

"And I guess he caught wind of the thing in Fitchburg now and kicked us to coordinates." I explained.

"So, wait..." Lottie started. "This Shtriga might be the same thing that John was hunting before?" She crossed her arms, a skeptical look on her face.

I closed the trunk and shrugged. "Yeah, maybe."

I started towards the office with Lottie and Sam trailing behind me. "But if John went after it, why is it still breathing air?" She asked aloud.

"Cause it got away." I snapped back. Lottie just chuckled.

"Got away? From John?"

"Yeah, it happens, Lottie." I snapped again, getting frustrated. I turned to them.

"I've never seen it happen, Dean." Lottie muttered, casting her gaze downwards.

"Well, I don't know what to tell ya, maybe Dad didn't have his wheaties this morning." I smirked before starting to walk again.

"What else do you remember?" Sam asked.

Memories clouded my mind again, and I looked over at them, snapping angrily. "Nothin'. I was a kid all right?" I entered the office and rang the bell on the desk. A boy around 10 or 12 came from the back room where a younger boy was sitting, watching cartoons. The image reminded me of Sam.

"A king or two queens?" He asked in a bored tone.

I glanced back at Lottie and Sam, smiling briefly at their animated conversation. "Two queens."

He followed my gaze towards outside, only spotting Sam since Lottie had traveled back to the Impala for a moment. "Yeah, I'll bet." He muttered under his breath.

"What'd you say?" I snapped, leaning forward slightly.

"Nice car!" He smiled sarcastically. I heard the door open behind me and I turned to see a petite woman with dark brown hair walk in.

"Hi." She smiled.

"Hi." I returned her smile.

"Checking in?" She asked, coming to stand besides me.

I nodded.

She turned to the boy and sighed. "Ahh, do me a favor, go get your brother some dinner."

"I'm helping a guest!" He exclaimed and she gave him that 'Don't make me ask you again' look. I smirked at him as she moved around the counter to stand behind it. He grimaced and turned to leave. "Two Queens." He said to his mother, raising his eyebrows at me.

I looked after the kid and laughed a bit. "Funny kid."

"Oh, yeah. He thinks so." She muttered, then looked up. "Will that be cash or credit?"

"You take master card?" I asked and she nodded. "Perfect, here you go." I handed over my card and stood by the desk, glancing up to see the boy pouring a glass of milk for his younger brother. I frowned a bit as more memories assaulted my mind.

Sam sat at the table while I poured him a glass of milk. "When's Dad gonna get back?" Sam asked as I looked over at the stove. Carlotta had been stirring the spaghetti-o's for Sam, and I could tell she was just itchin' to hear my reply. I smirked a bit.

"Tomorrow." I replied bluntly.

"When?" He asked again, curiosity shining in his eyes. I peered over to see Carlotta gazing over her shoulder with an identical curious look. Her cheeks flushed pink as she was caught, and turned back to the stove. She started pouring the hot spaghetti-o's in Sam's bowl.

"I dunno. He usually comes in late." I replied again.

"Can Lottie and I watch cartoons?" He asked, looking up hopefully.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "No."

"Why not?"

"Cause I said no. It's too late." I snapped. The pan clattered in the sink and an angry huff echoed out from the girl with green eyes. She gave me a side glare and crossed her arms over her chest. She hated it when I was so strict with Sam.

"But our favorite show is on tonight!" Sam whined, making my eyes roll again.

"No. End of story. Now eat your dinner."

"I'm sick of scabbetti-oh's." He huffed as Lottie set the bowl down in front of him.

I growled out. "Well -- you're the one who wanted 'em!"

"I want Lucky Charms!" He kept whining.

"There's no more Lucky Charms." I replied, sighing heavily.

"I saw the box!" He exclaimed and I shrugged.

"Okay, maybe there is but there's only enough for one more bowl and I haven't had any yet." I reasoned. Sam's face changed and his eyes melted into those puppy dog eyes. I looked over at Carlotta and she just held a cocky smirk. She knew I couldn't resist those eyes my brother had. I let out another heavy sigh and grabbed his bowl and dumped it out. I set the box of Lucky Charms in front of Sam and he immediately reached in. He pulled out the small toy that came with every box.

He held it out to me with a sweet smile. "D'you want the prize?"

"Sir?" The woman snapped me out of my mind. I looked over at her. She held out my card. I shook my head slightly and took the card back from her, offering a polite smile.

"Thanks." I signed the name on the card and exited the office.

~*****~

I poured a cup of coffee in the small motel kitchen after we unpacked a little. Lottie sat on the bed, running a brush through her hair and searching up information on a Shtriga with her laptop. Sam sat on the other, doing the same. "Well, you were right. Heh. It wasn't very easy to find, but you were right. Shtriga is a kind of witch. They're Albanian, but legends of them trace back to ancient Rome. They feed off Spiritus Vitae." Sam announced as I leaned against the counter.

"Spiri- what?" I ask.

"Sam, let's celebrate the fact that Dean was right and explain it a bit more." Lottie said, closing her lap top and throwing her hair into a bun. Sam laughed at my glare. "Vitae. It's Latin, and it translates to 'breath of life'. Kind of like your life force or essence."

"Didn't the doctor say the kids' bodies were wearing out?" I asked.

Sam tilted his head in thought. "It's a thought. You know, she takes your viality, maybe your immune system goes to hell, Pneumonia takes hold. Anyway, Shtriga's can feed off anyone, but they seem to prefer..."

"Children." I finished, taking note to that sick look on Lottie's face.

"Yeah, probably cause they have a stronger life force. And get this. Shtriga's are 'invulnerable to all weapons devised by god or man.' " Sam recited, looking incredibly annoyed.

"No, that's not right." I corrected, walking over to my bed. "She's vulnerable when she feeds.

"What?" Lottie asked, looking up at me.

"If you catch her when she's eating, you can blast her with consecrated wrought iron." I removed the journal from my duffel bag and walked back to the counter. "Ahh... buckshot iron rounds, I think."

"How do you know that?" Sam asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Dad told me. I remember." I replied. I opened the journal and started to leaf through it.

"Oh. Huh. So, uh, anything else Dad might've mentioned?"

"Nope. That's it." I answered evasively. I didn't want to relive that memory anytime soon. Sam clearly didn't accept that answer. "What?"

"Nothing. Okay," He murmured and stood up by the bed. Lottie gazed over at me, a flicker of nervousness in her eyes. "So, assuming we can kill it when it eats, we still gotta find the thing first, which ain't gonna be a cake walk. Shtriga's take on human disguises when they're not hunting."

"What kinda human disguise?" I asked.

"Historically, something innocuous. Could be anything, but it's usually a feeble old woman, which might be how the witches as old crones legend got started." Lottie explained.

"Hang on." I whispered, moving to the table behind me and grabbing a map.

"What?" Sam questioned.

"Check this out. I marked down all the address' of the victims. Now these are the houses that have been hit so far, and dead center?" I pointed to the map, raising an eyebrow.

"The hospital." Sam confirmed.

"The hospital. When we were there, Lottie and I say a patient, an old woman." I explained.

"I don't think-" Lottie tried saying, but we cut her off.

"An old person, huh?" Sam asked, slight sarcasm in his tone.

"Yeah." I snapped.

"In a hospital? Phew," He shook his head with a snicker. "Better call the Coast Guard."

"Well listen, Smart Ass, she had an inverted cross hanging on her wall." I snapped back. Sam looked at me with a now serious expression. 'Bitch.'

~*****~

I led Sam and Lottie down a hallway, searching for the room where Lottie and I had spotted that old lady. We rounded a corner and spotted Dr. Heidacker.

"Good night, Dr. Heidacker." A nurse bid him in a sweet tone.

"See you tomorrow, Betty." He said back, walking passed us. We turned our backs so he wouldn't see our faces. Once we were sure he wasn't there anymore, we continued on our way to the Old Lady's room.

Eventually, we reached said room. Sam opened the door and snuck inside. The room was dark, and the only light available, was the moon, shining through the blinds. The woman sat in a wheelchair, facing the corner. Lottie covered her lips in an attempt to stave off a smirk as I stepped around her. The old woman seemed to be sleeping, so I leaned in closer. I could hear Sam's nervous breathing to my right. Suddenly, the lady's head snapped up and she yelled out. "Who the hell are you?!" I leapt back, grasping my gun tightly as my heart beat right out of my chest. Lottie's delighted laugh echoed out into the room as she flipped the lights on. "Who's there? You trying to steal my stuff?" She asked, then grumbled to herself. "They're always stealing around here."

"No! Ah, ma'am, we're maintenance. We're sorry, we thought you were sleeping." Sam lied, putting on an accent. I took a deep breath and covered my eyes with my hand. My heart refused to calm down.

"Ahh, nonsense. I was sleeping with my peepers open." She cackles and then points to a wall. "And fix that crucifix, would ya? I've asked four damn times already!"

Lottie laughed again before kneeling down to said woman. "We're sorry about the delay. I've been training the newbies. We'll get that taken care of for you, sweetheart." She cooed. The old woman cupped her cheek and smiled, telling her that she appreciated it, and that she wished her daughter was as sweet as Lottie. I let out another soft sigh as I finally caught my breath. 'Damn, Lottie's not gonna let me live this down....'