"Thanks again so much for the ride! I had a good time today." I said as I unbuckled my seatbelt in the driveway at my house.

"Don't mention it, it was our pleasure." Dean laid his arm across the back of the bench seats and his fingers came just close enough to almost touch my hair. But not quite. I smirked and turned to Sam,

"And thank you SO much for letting me ride shotgun...you can have your seat back now!" I giggled as I whipped around and opened the door, shutting it firmly behind me.

Sam got out too. "Hey, I'll uh, walk you to your door."

"Aw, that's so sweet of you! But don't worry about it, honestly. I'm fine."

"I insist, and besides," he leaned close and whispered, "I think it will get on my partner's nerves if I go anywhere with you." He leaned back and mischief sparkled in his hazel-green eyes.

I lowered my head demurely, playing the part, "well, if you insist, I suppose I can abide it." I turned to head towards my door and Sam placed his hand on the small of my back. Not inappropriately, just gently, like he was being careful of me. I still felt the buzz in my stomach from my previous realizations: that my wander lust and adventure cravings had ridden to the surface. His hand on my back didn't settle it down, to say the least.

"Well that was fun. That will have driven him crazy." Sam smiled, his dimples showing adorably.

"Why would that drive him crazy?" I asked curiously.

"Well for one, you're a very pretty girl that we have been spending all day with, and two, he likes to think he always gets the pretty girl. And if there's anything worse for him than the pretty girl not 'setting her cap for him'...is if it looks like she's into me instead." He smiled cheekily as I felt scarlet rush all over my features, colouring them in every shade of crimson imaginable.

"I-uh-I...wow, I don't think...anyways. That's very kind of you to say." I stammered out as opened my front door. There just were too many emotions at once and in such a short time, if I didn't get to the refuge of the quiet of my home soon, I was going to explode.

Amazingly, Sam appeared unfazed by my weird reaction, and seemingly oblivious to my fiercely blushing face. "Oh, by the way, I can't remember if we gave you our card or not, but here it is. Please let us know if you see or hear anything unusual...anything out of the ordinary. Just give us a call." He handed me a business card with two numbers on it.

"The first number is Dean's. If you can't reach him, the second number is mine, ok?"

I looked at the card in my right hand as my left held my door in a semi-open swing. It was a neat white card without any special colours or patterns on it, just the agents' names, badge numbers, and phone numbers. "Ok, thank you very much." I looked up from the card to the agent in front of me. "I hope we'll be seeing you both again, but if not, I wish you well on your investigation and I hope everything turns out alright." Sam gave a short nod and backed down the steps before heading down the driveway. I waved as they drove away and then headed into the house.

I locked the door behind me before turning around to lean against it and let out a mammoth sigh.

That was so much fun...I had such a good time and I can't even remember the last time I...well, there's something about them...they made me remember what it was like to live and it's weird because we didn't do anything different from my ordinary life! Every moment of today built to making me feel like I'm a part of something bigger...something awesome and exotic and new! Maybe it's because they took the time to get to know a stranger.

Maybe it's because of their somewhat mysterious, dangerous, intimidating job.

Maybe it's because they're so fun-loving and happy-go-lucky even though they have such a job.

Maybe it's because they made me feel like I was a part of what they were doing, instead of just helping them find the information they needed.

Or maybe it's because of that auburn-chestnut hair with the delicious dimples. Or the forest green eyes with those flecks of sunshine in them...and the delicious dimples...and the freckles...and the car...and the smirk...

"Lynn? Is that you, hunny?"

My head snapped up at the sudden interruption into my...thought...process...

And I blushed at myself.

"Yes Gramma! Sorry, I should have said something," I shook my head to clear my thoughts, took off my jacket and headed further into the house, towards the living room.

As I approached Gramma's chair, she looked up and smiled at me, "hello sweetie! How was your morning? Did you have a nice time? Where did you go?"

I smiled back at Gramma and wondered what I should tell her. I hadn't told her about the FBI, I didn't want her to worry. She didn't know all my comings and goings, but she loved being a listening part of my life, so I always tried to share some things with her.

"Well, I went to the museum today, and I brought a couple of gentlemen with me who were new to town."

Gramma's eyes widened and her brow furrowed, "a couple of gentlemen? You went out and about with multiple men you didn't know?!"

"No Gramma, no! It's not like that," you giggled at her incredulity. "You know I'm not that naïve. They were some lawmen who had come to town for an investigation and they just wanted to get to know the town better."

"Hmm..." Gramma leaned back in her seat. "Well how old were these gentlemen?"

"Late twenties, early thirties I'd guess."

"And were they handsome?"

I wiggled my eyebrows at Gramma, "They were absolutely dreamy...the kind of guys that become movie stars, not cops or agents. They were both tall, one was really tall, and the shorter one had these eyes Gramma," I sighed and leaned back on the ottoman I'd perched on, "they're green like the ocean in a storm, with hints of blue and grey. But sometimes they were amber, with green flecks. And he had these adorable freckles..." I full on laid down on the ottoman in a dramatic flurry, letting out a roaring sigh.

"Looks like somebody's got a crush!" Gramma sang at me.

"NO! No, it's not like that...I can appreciate the art on the wall, it doesn't mean I have to buy it." I countered with one of her very own sayings. Gramma had a lot of older sayings she was using against me all the time. It was nice to have a few of my own up my sleeve.

"Well, crush or not, I just hope they were respectable young men who know their place." Gramma looked at me over her glasses before turning back to her TV and un-muting Mildred Pierce.

"There's food in the fridge if you want something. I made some soup and there was leftovers." She said over Joan Crawford's character's soliloquy. I walked around to the back of her chair before leaning over and kissing the top of her head, her soft curls tickling my nose. Gramma reached up and patted my cheek before I stood up and sauntered tiredly out of the room.

I wandered into the kitchen and turned the tap on, making myself a cup of tea. I began to fill the kettle when I looked outside the window at our lawn.

It is going to need a cut within the next few days.

I did a mental count to see when I was working and when I'd have time to mow the lawn. I felt my shoulders slump with exhaustion when I realized I was working the next eleven days straight, so the only chance I'd have to cut the lawn was...today. And I'd have to do it right now in order to get it done before dinner. After dinner it would get dark too quickly.

I sighed heavily as I realized what an unorganized human being I was. Never knowing what chore or challenge would come up next and always knowing that at any time Gramma could have another bout of illness that would make life even more difficult...and expensive. Our insurance was really good and covered a lot, but her medication was ridiculously expensive, and no number of hours arguing on the phone with the insurance was going to get them to hand over a penny more than they normally did. I already took every shift I was possibly able to handle and then a couple more. And Gramma and I only had each other.

I let the kettle hit the counter heavily as I turned and headed upstairs to my room to change into my yard work clothes. It had to be done. And no matter how tired I was, I was the only one to do it.

And the reality seeped in that no matter how hard I tried, I was only just going to be this.

Just me.

Nothing special, exciting or unique.

And just as I had let it rise in torrents of excitement, I started to stuff any thought of adventure back into the locked safe it had so unceremoniously erupted from only an hour before.

Because, the thing is, you can dream and want these things, but you still have to be content with your life. I can't do that. I don't know how. So the only way I know how to be happy...

Is to be unhappy.

And let my dreams suffocate.

***

"The lawn looks beautiful Lynn!" Gramma peered out the window as she leaned on the counter, supporting her bad knee.

"Thanks, Gramma, I'm just glad it's done!" I carried the small stack of dishes to the sink and began filling it up with hot soapy water.

Gramma straightened up. "My back and my knee are really bad today sweetheart, I'm gonna go sit down. Don't dry the dishes, just let them air dry and I'll put them away later."

"Ok Gramma!"

"When you're done, come sit with me! I have a movie you haven't seen starring Gregory Peck and Greer Garson, I think you'll love it! Once you get settled, I'll make some popcorn."

"That sounds really awesome Gramma, thanks! I should only be a few minutes." I smiled to myself as my heart swelled. These were the moments I would always remember. That I would always cherish and love. I could hardly stand the thankfulness I had at this moment.

Rinsing one sudsy dish off and starting in on another, I hummed to myself, occasionally singing. Music was my passion and kept me upbeat and on track when life got tough, and when life was awesome. It was just something I could rely on. It was always...around. Always with me.

Dusk had fallen and I hadn't turned on the kitchen light yet, there was enough sunlight to see what I was doing. I looked up and out the window at the lawn that had been my nemesis only hours before. On the far side of the little front lawn we had a row of bushes that ran all along the fence and curved to run all along the front of the house. I tried to keep it trimmed, but this spring had been too crazy, so it never happened.

As my depression about what I wasn't getting done deepened, I glanced down at my dishes and then up once again, directly into glowing eyes sparking at me from the bushes beneath the window.

"What the...?!?!" I gasped and threw myself back from the sink and into the kitchen island behind me. My hands were slick with water, slipping as I gripped the countertop behind me. My heart was in my throat and I felt lightheaded. Then I heard Gramma in the other room, adjusting her chair.

If there is someone or something out there, I have to figure that out before I let Gramma know anything is wrong. She couldn't do anything about it anyways...

I steeled myself against my nerves and crept back to the window, all my senses alert, making sure that I hadn't imagined it and just scared myself silly. I breathed shallowly, leaning my body forward until I could see into the bushes below the window. Just when I had decided that I had officially imagined it, the eyes appeared again. Glowing. Large. Watching.

I froze and stared. The eyes wandered all along the window, like they were trying to see in. I watched, trying to figure out what it was. I couldn't see it's face. Just it's glowing eyes. I realized it couldn't see in because of the time of day and the angle of the sunset. It caused the window to have a double-sided glass effect.

My mind raced as I tried to figure out what to do. It's eyes moved intelligently, like a human's, scanning and searching, but their shape reminded me of an animal. A dog, or a wolf?

I had backed away from the window, trying to keep the eyes in my sight, but making sure that when it could see in the window, it wouldn't be able to see me.

What in the world do I do? The house is all locked up...no one would believe me if I...

Wait.

The agents.

Sam told me to call if something weird or strange at all happened.

Well, if nothing else, this qualifies as strange...

I fished in my pockets until I found my cell phone and the card Sam gave me. Quickly, I dialed the top number on the card, racing against time before I lost sight of the thing with the eyes...

Or Gramma walked in.

"Hello, this is Agent Page."

"Agent Page?" I whispered, "this is Lynn from the restaurant."

"What's wrong?" the agent immediately clued in to the strain in my voice.

"There's something outside my house." My voice was panicky in spite of how hard I tried to control it.

"Something or someone?"

It was then I realized how crazy what I needed to say was going to sound.

"I...don't...know. There's just these...glowing eyes. Watching for us. I can't tell what it is."

Surprisingly, he didn't seem to notice that my lack of explanation was weird.

"Ok, we're heading over right now. I need you to stay on the line with me, you hear?"

I nodded and then realized he couldn't see me on the phone. "ok, I will."

"Now just hang on, we're coming as fast as we can."

"Should I call the police?"

"No, don't worry, just don't let the thing see you, but try to keep an eye on it and see where it goes."

"Agent...I'm scared. I'm here alone with my Gramma. What if it tries to get in?" At that moment the eyes went from being low in the bush to standing up tall like a man. It's dark form slouched and lowering, it was muscular and lean. It put its hands on the window soundlessly, and that's when I could see inch long claws spiking out of each finger tip.

"Dean!" I squeaked into my phone, pressing myself against the wall, trying to watch it and praying it didn't see me. "It has claws...on a man's hand!"

"Lynn, don't panic, we are in the car, we are on our way. Keep an eye on it as long as you can, but if it moves, grab a weapon, anything you can swing at it that will do damage and pull the blinds and curtains. Get you and your Gramma in a room where you can barricade yourselves in and wait for us to get there."

The eyes were scouring the big front window, the claws running silently across it in no particular pattern. I decided no one was going to believe me. So I did the only thing I could do. I took out my phone and began taking a video while I watched the creature search. Then it vanished from the window entirely.

My skin prickled as I walked towards the window, still recording with my phone. I got to the window and peered down. The eyes were gone. I stopped recording. I saw a shadow move around the corner of the house towards the living room.

Where Gramma was waiting for me.

And all the windows in the world to look into.

My mouth went dry as I realized the creature would be able to see my Gramma completely unprotected in my living room. I grabbed a large kitchen knife out of the knife block and ran into the living room. Without stopping, I ran and grabbed the nearest curtain and flung it shut, then flew across the room to fling the second large curtain set shut. I hadn't seen anything, but I didn't bother to look.

"Come on Gramma!" I said loudly. "Let's get you to bed since you aren't feeling well!" I held a finger over my lips as I walked towards her with the knife firmly in my hand.

"What are you doing?" she mouthed to me as I got closer.

"Trust me." I mouthed back, pointing towards the closed curtains.

Gramma looked horrified at the knife in my hand.

"What the heck is that for?" she whispered.

"Lynn? LYNN! Are you there??" I heard Dean's muffled voice on the cellphone I'd slid in my pocket. I flipped the knife so the blade was pointing down my arm as I fished in my pocket with my fingers for my phone.

"Yes, sorry, I'm here, I'm just getting my Gramma." I whispered into phone once I got it near my mouth.

"Ok, hang on, we are almost there." I heard Sam's voice...

If they're almost here they're making seriously good time!

I inhaled slowly to steady my nerves before realizing that Gramma was still silently demanding an answer for the knife.

"I'll tell you in a minute," I hissed as I held her arm and guided her across the living room, towards the bathroom. I got Gramma to sit on the toilet seat and hold the knife while I slunk back into the living room as silently as I could, picking up the large heavy wooden rocking chair and waddling back into the bathroom with it. I barely got it in the bathroom before I heard the back door of the house fling open.

My heart leapt in my chest and pounded so loudly it was all I could hear as I carefully shut the bathroom door and locked it. I slid the rocking chair against the door, wedging it under the door handle. I grabbed the plunger and shoved it under the runners of the rocking chair, making it nearly impossible to move. I stood up and pushed my hair back from my face, sweat making my forehead sticky and filling my body with hot chills shivering up and down my spine. After a moment of hesitation I reached over my makeshift barricade and turned off the light switch, immersing Gramma and I in darkness.

Gramma had been tapping my shoulder, but I had been so preoccupied with following the agent's directions, I had barely felt her efforts. I put my cellphone to my ear again and listened to the sound of a car engine revving and tires screeching. I turned the volume down as low as I dared and whispered, "we are in the bathroom on the main floor...it's in the house!"

"We're just coming around the corner, almost there!" I heard one of the men say faintly. I finally turned my attention to Gramma, feeling her arm in the dark, I slid my hand up and around her shoulders.

"Something's in the house trying to get us...help is on the way." I hugged her tightly and saw the reflection of the phone screen on the knife. I took it from Gramma and laid it carefully on the counter in front of us, hoping...praying, that we would not need to use it.

But in this instance, hoping was futile.

The first crash was so sudden and loud it was like I felt it rather than heard it. Gramma screamed in spite of herself and I began shouting into the phone, "It's found us, please! Help us!" The second crash was louder than the first and suddenly I could see Gramma's face in the blackness of the bathroom. The door jam had started splintering and was letting some light filter in. We could hear a roaring snarl coming from eight feet away with only a door, a rocking chair and a bathroom plunger keeping it away from us.

I grabbed the knife and gripped the handle tightly. If I was gonna die, I was gonna die swinging. Protecting Gramma was my number one priority. I turned back to look at her. Silent tears pouring down her face as she looked back at me. She knew our best chance of survival was by letting me handle it, but it went against every fibre of her being to not be snatching the knife out of my hand and shoving me behind her.

A third crash and a massive chunk of door flew past our heads and imbedded itself in the drywall behind us.

"DEAN!! SAM!! NOW!!" I screamed into my phone before dropping it, as the lurking, snarling, furious mess of a creature looked in on us through the slit it created in the door. I could kind of see it now. It had long sharp fangs with wild glowing eyes, its mouth frothing, but the strangest thing was...

It looked like a man.

A wild, raging, deformed, demon-man.

That snarled like a wolf-man.

It reached through the slit in the door, scratching and clawing towards us. I cowered into Gramma in the corner, shielding her and trying to make myself as small as possible...when I remembered the knife.

I stood up and slashed it in front of me as hard as I could, ignoring the wretching feeling in my stomach as I made a solid connection.

The creature screamed and pulled back, nearly taking my knife with it. I lost my grip and the knife clattered to the floor. The creature regrouped and narrowed it's glowing eyes before tearing at the door, splinter by splinter, shard by shard, making the narrow opening larger and larger.

The wound I'd cut in it's arm already had stopped bleeding and appeared to be somehow self-healing. I realized my knife was basically useless, except to make it angry. Rapidly, I tried weighing my options and realized...I didn't have any. I whipped my head around to look at Gramma. The tears were wet on her cheeks, but she nodded her head and put her hand on my arm. It was gonna be ok. No matter what. Even if the creature's rabid saliva was flying all over us, it didn't matter. We were together.

Suddenly a large bang echoed from the front of the house.

The creature stopped tearing at the door to confront the noise.

"How about some sliver you son of a b-" The deafening echoes of several gunshots ripped through our home, making me cover my ears as I watched bullets pierce the creatures body, throwing it back from the door until I heard the sound of its body collapsing on the ground.

Then there was silence.

Deafening, horrifying silence.

"Lynn? Are you guys ok?" Dean's strong voice broke the empty void and shocked me back to reality.

"We're here! We're ok!" I grabbed the plunger and flung it aside and reached for the rocking chair, trying to un-wedge it, but the pressure of the creature pushing on it had actually wedged it so intensely I could not budge it.

"We're stuck in here...we need something to cut apart this chair." I called towards the hole in the door. I saw Sam's face peer in through the gap the monster had made.

"Dean, they're over here...Lynn is bleeding, and I can't see her grandmother."

"Gramma is here with me," I was confused when he said I was bleeding, but I carefully stood up from my crouched position and fumbled my arms across the battered rocking chair. I finally stretched and reached the light on the inside of the door.

As light bathed the room, I could fully see how close we came to being no more. There were splinters everywhere, pieces of the door mingled with the fractured wood from the rocking chair...somehow it had held. It was looking like more and more of a miracle chair. That's when I noticed the blood. It was sprinkled all over the floor.

I turned around to look at Gramma to see if she was ok--

"Lynn! Oh my gosh, sweetheart..." and Gramma started to cry.

I felt my eyes go wide with fear and for the first time I looked in the mirror...blood was gushing from my hairline, pouring down my face, ruining my clothing. There was a large piece of door sticking out of the gash, my instincts kicking in as I grabbed for it, attempting to pull it out. The pain almost made me faint.

"I think...I think I'm too woozy to pull this out right now." I admitted weakly. I looked over at the agents struggling with the door just as I felt something stinging in my eye. The blood must have finally made its way into it.

"Hang on, we're coming." Dean grunted as I saw the flash of an axe blade, followed by the thud-thud of the men hacking into what was left of the door.

I looked on wearily, almost as though I was out of my own body, just watching the scenario unfold. I felt so light-headed, I wanted to be sick. I laid the uninjured side of my head on the counter and tried to stay focused. The last thing any of us needed was me blacking out. Gramma was saying something, but it sounded far away. I felt her dabbing at my face, I guess she was standing over me, saying something to Sam...or was it Dean? I tried to focus my gaze but it wouldn't stop spinning. The nausea got so intense I stood up quickly, ready to be sick in the sink.

But it all went black.