CHAPTER FIVE

"Miss Gilbert, your uncle wants to talk to you." The officer says as he walks into the room with the teenager's​ phone in his hand.

"You're making calls with my phone?" The brown-eyed girl questions as she quirks a dark eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure that's not legal."

"I'm trying to keep from having to hold you here." He hands it to her, and she puts​ the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" She has absolutely no idea who's on the other end, but she seriously doubts that it's her uncle John.

"Nycole, has nobody taught you better than to get arrested? Your aunt would be so disappointed in you if she knew what was going on." An unfamiliar male voice comes through the speaker, and she doesn't react. "Luckily for you, Uncle Damon doesn't care enough to tell her. So, what'd you do?"

"I swear I didn't know that the credit-card was a fake." She says​, trying to pass it off as him actually being her uncle, as well as trying to hide her anger at it being him who's helping her out of this. "That's not exactly something that you advertise to a girl."

"Fake credit-card? Why are you with a guy who can't afford to use his own name on his stuff?" He questions. "Your sister definitely has better taste in men. And what's with all the missing persons information taped to your motel room walls and the satanic stuff? What the hell kind of creepy shit are you into?"

"That stuff was there when I got there, I don't know what it is." She half lies. "I wasn't​ in the room for very long before we were leaving and got arrested."

"And where were you going?"

"He was taking me somewhere else. I wanted to leave." Now it's a complete lie, but what difference does it make? She just wants to be released from custody.

"You're a good liar, I'm impressed." Damon says, and she can hear the smile in his voice.

"Why do you have Aunt Jenna's phone anyway? Are you going through her stuff again?" Nyx asks. "This fighting is part of the reason I left in the first place. It's half your fault that I'm even in this mess. I never would've met him if you could just trust her. You're lucky she took you back after you cheated on her. If you don't stop the paranoia about her getting back at you, you're gonna lose her for good." She spins a story to play off a complicated life at home.

"You are good." He muses. "Let me talk to the officer."

"She's gonna stop trusting you at some point." And this would be her way of telling him that she doesn't trust him.

"Now who's paranoid?" He questions. "Your sister's staring right at me, I'm not going to do anything to get you into more trouble. Cross my heart."

Like you even have one. Nyx sighs​ and then holds​ the phone out to the officer. "He wants to talk to you." She tells him, and he takes it from her.

He listens to whatever​ Damon has to say and then nods. "I understand that kids can be troublesome at her age, especially under the circumstances regarding her parents, and you and your girlfriend." The officer says. "We'll release her, but her friend isn't going anywhere. And I'd talk to her about making better friends and getting back home." He says and then they wrap up their conversation.

He hangs up and hands Nyx back her phone. "I'm sorry about your parents, and that you got wrapped up with a couple of creeps while traveling." He says, and she nods. "You should go back to your family. It sounds like they miss you. And your uncle sounds like a nice enough guy."

The brunette forces a smile. "I'll be sure to let him know that you think so." She says​, and they walk out of the room that she was being kept in.

They walk past the interview room that Dean's being held in, and he winks when she looks​ at him. Nyx hides​ a smile from the cop who's escorting her out as she shakes her head at her friend.

"Are you gonna be alright to get home from here?" He asks, and she nods.

"My uncle's going to pay for a plane ticket home. I should be able to make it to the airport from here." She lies, giving him her best fake smile. "Thank you so much for understanding about this whole mix up. I don't know what I would've done otherwise."

"Take care of yourself, kid." He says.

"Thanks. You too, sir." She says​ and then walks away from the station.

Nycole stops around the corner and she leans against the wall to wait, knowing it shouldn't be too long until Dean gets out. And just like she thought, he walks past her a few minutes later, and she stands up straight, quickly following after him.

"No way in hell they released you." The teenager says​, and he glances down at her.

"Why'd they let you go?" He questions. "I mean, my telling them that I barely knew you was definitely not enough of a story to deem you an innocent bystander."

"Apparently Damon doesn't​ need compulsion to be persuasive." She tells him, not bothering to hide her irritation.

"Damon? How the hell did he get involved?" He questions, and she shakes her head.

"They called Jenna, and I'm guessing my sister answered." She explains. "He was with her and pretended to be my uncle, for reasons entirely unknown to me."

"Give me your phone. I gotta call my brother." He says, and she hands her cell over to him.

"What's going on?" She asks as they continue walking down the side of the otherwise deserted road.

"Hang on, I'll explain to both of you." Dean says, and then his brother answers. "Fake 9-1-1 phone call. I don't know, Sammy, that's pretty illegal." He chuckles before finally getting to the explanation of what's going on.

"Wait, John's not here?" Nyx questions,​ and Dean shakes his head, glancing down at her as they continue walking.

The boys' dad isn't in Jericho anymore, and all he left behind is his old journal that he's kept for the last twenty-two years. Well, that, and some coordinates that they're now supposed to follow.

"Sam! Sam!" He yells suddenly, and Nyx looks​ back at him. "Damn it!"

"What happened?" She asks,​ confused, and he looks down at her.

"Did you get the address for Constance's​ old house?" He asks, panic evident in his apple green eyes, and she nods.

"Yeah, this morning when Sam and I were looking for her husband's current address."

"Good. We need to go there now." He tells her.

—

Dean and Nyx get to​ the abandoned house out in the middle of nowhere, and see the ghost that they're hunting straddling Sam in the driver's seat of Dean's car. Dean quickly pulls out a gun and shoots Constance in the head, shattering the window. She disappears for a second, only to return moments later to continue hurting Sam.

He groans in pain, trying to fight against her as she digs her fingertips into his chest. "I'm taking you home." The younger boy says suddenly and then he twists the key in the ignition and drives the car right into the front of the house.

"Sam!" Dean yells as they watch the Impala lurch forward, and then they run after his brother to make sure that he's okay. "Sam!"

"Here!" The younger boy calls out.

"You okay?" He asks as he opens the passenger door to the car.

"I think."

"Can you move?"

"Yeah. Help me."

Dean carefully​ pulls his brother out of the car, and then Nyx sees​ Constance show up behind them. "Uh, guys." The teenager quickly gets their attention, and the boys stand up on either side of her. "And, she's angry." Nyx then turns​ to run, but something flies across the room and hits the back of her thighs.

The brunette ends up stuck against Dean's left side, and her right arm is pinned between the car and her body. She tries to move, but Constance has them all stuck in their places, a large wooden hutch pinning them at their legs to the passenger side of the Impala. Nyx can't move from where her chest is against Dean's arm.

"I can't decide if not being able to see what's going on is better or worse." Nyx says​ as electricity starts to crackle in a few of the bulbs in the room. The thought that the old, abandoned house shouldn't even have any sort of electricity​ crosses her mind.

"Better, definitely better." Dean says as he ducks his head down nearer to hers. Nyx looks​ up at him at the same time that his gaze moves to her.

Their faces are now only inches apart, and the sound of running water doesn't bother Nyx nearly as much as it should. In this moment, her main focus is Dean. And it's a mutual feeling — all that's on his mind now is the close proximity between the two of them.

"You've come home to us, Mommy." The hunters hear two small voices speaking in unison​, and the moment's over just as quickly as it started.

Constance starts screaming, and Nyx twists her torso​ as much as she can manage to see what's going on. Her dark eyes land on​ the three ghosts that are now distorting, and it's one of the creepiest things that she's ever seen to date. Lights flash, and the spirits start to move toward the floor.

Nyx quickly turns​ back to Dean, moving​ so that she's facing the car. The side of her face is against Dean's arm and she squeezes her eyes shut. He places his free hand on her shoulder, and she tries to focus on anything but the sound of Constance's agonized screams.

It all comes to a sudden stop, and Nyx looks​ up again. This time, she and Dean are closer than they were before and they both just look at each other. Sam would be amused if it weren't for the piece of furniture still pinning them to the Impala.

"A little help here." He says, his voice strained.

"Right." Dean clears his throat as he looks away from the brunette, and then the boys push the heavy hutch that has them pinned.

Nyx's phone starts ringing, and she pulls​ it out of her pocket. "It's Elena, so I should probably take this. I'll be outside. Let me know when we're done with the haunted house of horrors." The youngest says​ as she walks​ away from them.

"Nycole?" Elena's voice comes through the phone.

"Hey."

"What happened? Why were you arrested?" She questions.

"It's a long story, but everything's fine now, I promise." She tells her sister. "We're finishing​ up a case, and things got a little complicated."

"Damon wants to talk to you." She says, and then he's on the phone.

"How's my favorite niece doing?" He asks, the smirk evident in his voice.

"You will never be my uncle. Stay away from Jenna or you will be the next thing that I hunt." Nyx tells​ him as the boys back the car out of the house.

"You owe me, you know. I just got your ass out of jail."

"You turned my best friend into a vampire, and then your brother killed her." She argues as she climbs​ into the backseat of the Impala. "I don't owe you a damn thing, you bloodsucking son of a bitch. You and I are not even close to being even."

"I think we are."

"Getting me out of jail does​ not make up for you killing my best friend."

"That was Stefan — you just said so yourself."

"You're still at fault." She tells him. "Why am I even arguing with you? Put my sister back on the phone, you self-righteous jackass."

"I don't even get a thank you?" He questions.

"Go to hell, Damon."

"Fair enough." He concedes.

"Are you okay, Nyx?" Elena asks once she has her phone back.

"We're fine now. The ghost is gone, and we're getting the hell out of Dodge." She tells​ her. "And do everyone a favor — stay far, far away from Damon from now on."

The brothers both glance back once she's off the phone. "Are you alright?" Dean asks.

"Fine." She snaps, and he briefly looks at her in the rearview mirror before returning his attention to the road without another word.

—

Elena
You got your wish.

Damon killed Stefan's best
friend of 140 years tonight.

Nyx sighs as she reads the text message from her sister. The brunette hesitates for a moment and then goes​ into her contacts to find​ Stefan's name. She's​ never actually used his number before now, but she wanted to have it just in case there was ever any need for it. You can never be too careful when there are things like vampires and monster hunters in your life.

"I don't know where Elena is." The vampire says when he answers her call.

"I'm not looking for Elena." She tells him. "I just got a text from my sister saying that Damon killed your best friend."

"And you're calling to tell me I got what I deserve." He nods as he looks down at the ground. "I get it, but now's not a good time."

"No, that's not..." The teenager sighs as she shakes her head. "I said what I said out of anger. I didn't actually want another person to be killed, and I certainly didn't want anyone else to feel what I feel from losing Vicki. I called to apologize for what I said, and to tell you that I'm sorry you lost your friend...especially because of your own brother. I can't imagine what it must feel like to lose someone you've known for a hundred and forty years."

"Thank you, Nycole. I appreciate your call." Stefan says, and their conversation ends there.

The three hunters make it back to Palo Alto later that night, and Sam and Nyx both get out of the car. She looks up at him, and he smiles at the brunette. "It was really nice to meet you, Nyx." He says, and she offers him a small smile.

"You too, Sam."

"Don't let my brother drive you too crazy." He says as he leans down to hug her. "And don't tell him I said this, but I think you'll be good for him. He needs someone a little more stable in his life." He whispers.

"I think he's helping me more than I'm helping him." She tells him.

"I think you two are helping each other." He says as they pull apart, and she nods as she looks up at him.

"Yeah, I think you're right. Good luck with your interview." She offers him a smile before climbing​ into the front seat of the Impala.

He leans down and looks in the window at his older brother. "You'll call when you find him?" He asks, and Dean nods. "Maybe I can catch up with you guys later, huh?"

"Yeah, alright." Dean agrees, and Sam starts walking away from them. "Sam." He calls after him before he makes it too far. "You know, we made a hell of a team back there."

"Yeah." Sam agrees, a small smile on his face, and then he goes inside.

"So, who was that on the phone this time?" Dean asks as he looks at the brunette.

"Stefan." Nyx says​ as she over looks​ at him. "Damon killed his best friend, and seeing as I can actually sympathize with what he's going through, I thought I'd call him."

He nods slowly. "We're sympathizing with vampires now?"

"No." She shakes her head. "I sympathized with someone that my sister loves. You are judging me for it. And we are supposed to be driving...where again?"

"Uh... Colorado." He tells her. "I think I'm gonna drive through the night. You gonna stay up or take a siesta?"

"I'll probably stay awake for a little while. How long of a drive is it?" She asks, but something inside the apartment building seems to have caught his attention.

"Do you see that?"

Nycole turns​ her head and looks​ up at the windows of the building that Sam went into. "Is that fire?" She asks​ as they both start to quickly climb out of the car.

The pair both start running, and Dean's moving faster than she would've thought humanly possible. By the time Nyx makes it to Sam's apartment, the door's already been kicked in and she can hear Dean yelling his brother's name as he searches for him throughout the apartment.

Sam's yelling as he lays on his back on a king-size bed, staring up at the ceiling directly above him. The room is nearly completely engulfed in flames, and Nyx freezes in the doorway when she sees the blonde that she met a few days ago on the ceiling with a large bloodstain in the middle of her nightgown, the someone sliced into her abdomen before they stuck her up there.

"Sam!" Dean stops at her side, briefly taking in the scene before him before he then rushes toward his brother and pulls Sam off the bed.

The oldest then forces the younger boy past Nyx, despite his protests, and she quickly follows them out as a flame shoots out of the room. Dean's jarring movements were enough to break her out of her state of shock, and they run out of the apartment.

Later, Dean and Nyx watch as the multitude of firefighters try to put out the flames. The building's surrounded by people who live there, but Sam's standing at the back of the Impala a few feet away from all the chaos.

The pair then walk​ over to him, and they see that he's holding a rifle. Sam looks at them and sighs before dropping the gun back into the trunk of the car. "We got work to do." He tells them and then slams the hatch down.