— 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝟐, 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐒 𝟏𝟔 & 𝟏𝟕 —

FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, EVERYTHING WAS QUIET. The girls returned to work back at the bureau and the Winchesters managed to keep their next couple of hunts out of the papers. Of course it was too good to last.

Henriksen was practically manic as he scrambled for the Winchesters' trail. It was evident he'd hardly slept as dark circles laid just beneath his bloodshot eyes. Groves had been riding his ass, and if progress wasn't made soon... well, Tess wouldn't be surprised if the assignment was given a new leader. Because as much as she insisted that Henriksen was their partner, he was the one who would take the most heat when they failed to catch the pair of "serial killers".

As Henriksen emerged from his office following another meeting with Groves, Tess noticed that dangerous look in his eyes that implied he was about to take a huge risk. She bit the inside of her cheek, ending the internal debate of starting a conversation as she asked, "Where are we headed?"

"Highway 41," Henriksen replied with a steely look.

"Highway 41?" Tess questioned. "And where's the evidence that's pointing you out into the middle of nowhere?"

"An anonymous tip from a source who claims they saw the car heading in that direction," Henriksen replied, hardly looking over his shoulder as he collected a few files in storage before turning to head back into his office.

"That's it?" Tess asked skeptically. "Since when do you follow whispers in the wind?"

"We roll out in twenty, either join us or don't. I really don't care anymore, Holmes." Henriksen shook his head; however, it almost seemed like he was warning her as his eyes narrowed. "But maybe you're the one who needs to get their priorities straight. Don't think your and Watson's little disappearance act has escaped Groves's eyes unnoticed."

"We've had other cases," Tess insisted, her tone challenging his.

"Cases that appeared out of thin air," Henriksen agreed. "Almost as if you were avoiding the Winchester case altogether... Besides, you're still hiding something about what happened on your roadtrip to Sandusky."

"Watson and I will meet you at the chopper," Tess replied. "If only to say 'I told you so' at the end of this wild goose chase."

"We'll see," Henriksen agreed, walking past Lila as the redhead joined her sister.

"Something's got him worked up this morning..." Lila muttered, keeping her eyes trained on Henriksen as he passed. Concern twisted her features. "Is he onto us?"

"Not yet," Tess noted, keeping her eyes locked on the back of Henriksen's head as he walked away. "But we can't keep cleaning up their messes forever... Speaking of, has your boy toy mentioned where their latest hunt has taken them?"

"He's not my boy toy," Lila immediately frowned as she protested; however, a look of thought softened her expression. "Although now that you mention it, he hasn't said anything about where they've been recently... I'm sure I could ask and get some answers though. You think Henriksen caught their trail?"

"The man can occasionally act competent," Tess agreed with a nod. "Shoot the Sasquatch a text and find out if we need to cover for them, would you?"

"On it!" Lila chirped, a sly grin pulling at her lips as she whipped out her phone. She quickly began typing, using only one finger to spell out her lengthy message—a habit Tess had continuously encouraged her to break, yet never succeeded. However, she paused after only a few words. "I forgot to ask. Where are we headed?"

"Henriksen is headed to Highway 41," Tess explained with a shrug. "If he's actually on to something we might just tag along."

"Better safe than sorry..." Lila nodded in agreement then chuckled under her breath. "And if it is the boys, I expect a couple apologies for keeping them safe."

Tess scoffed. "Sorry is the least we can expect."

"Doesn't hurt to try." Lila shrugged before pocketing her phone as she began walking toward the exit doors. "Text is sent, so hopefully he replies within a timely manner."

"For both our sake and sanity," Tess agreed with another scoff.

Lila's phone chimed as Sam's reply came much quicker than expected. Tess shot Lila a sly look with several implication that the younger sister shrugged away by rolling her eyes. Clearly Dean was the one driving wherever they were headed, so it shouldn't have been that hard to respond. It's not like Sam was just waiting for her to call or text him, right?

|| BOY SCOUT ||

Headed down Highway 41. I'll let you know if we find what we're looking for.

"Nuggets," Lila hissed under her breath, freezing midstep before sighing. "Henriksen's on their trail."

Tess pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just once I'd like to worry about doing my job, and not worry about cleaning up another mess to keep that job."

"Me too," Lila agreed with a nod before playfully elbowing her sister as she began jogging ahead. "But hey, maybe it's Dean going sweet on ya. You ever think that maybe he makes the mess just to see you again? Shotgun!"

"You get back here and take that back!" Tess called after her, chasing Lila down with a murderous look in her eyes.

"Never!" She laughed and squealed as she broke into a full sprint as she stepped outside into the lot of the parking garage. She arrived at passenger side only to realize it was locked after tugging on the door a few times.

With a smug grin, Tess held up the keys and jingled them for effect as she walked up to the car. "You sure about that?"

"Alright, I surrender. I take back what I said," Lila leaned against the car, crossing her arms across her chest as her lips jutted into a pout while she grumbled under her breath. However, she perked up as her mind switched topics without warning. "Oh! Can we stop for snacks on the way?"

"Did you even have to ask?" Tess playfully asked as she unlocked the car and slid in to the driver's seat. The previous conversation either forgotten or forgiven. "Of course we're getting snacks. I can't deal with Henriksen's crap on an empty stomach."

Lila pumped her fist into the air, silently cheering as she slid into the passenger seat. Her subtlety was less than successful as she performed a little happy dance to which Tess chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"We need gas anyway," Tess said as if making an excuse before turning the key in the ignition, "I'll fill up the car and you run in to grab some snacks when we stop at the gas station."

As Harrison rolled out onto the street, Lila leaned back in her seat with a contented sigh. "Hey, Tess, what do you think it'll be this time? I mean, it's a highway. What sort of monster sticks to the road?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure I really want to find out," Tess replied. "It seems the only thing that reliably follows the Winchesters is trouble."

"True," Lila agreed. She paused in thought before a delighted smirk toyed at her lips. "I bet that they're fighting an evil Lightning McQueen... or maybe they've found the elusive ghost light."

Tess snickered, it was impossible to not picture what her younger sister had just described, and even more so to hide how humorous she'd found the comment. "Honestly, I hope you're right."

Lila stifled a giggle herself before nodding and looking out the car window. Less than ten minutes passed before they pulled up to the nearest Gas N' Sip. As planned, Tess began to fill up the car while Lila made her way inside to gather the pre-decided roadtrip snacks and necessities. Although the airfield was only an hour away, that was enough time to grow more than peckish—and no one would want to deal with a pair of hangry Singer sisters. It was a poor combination that failed to bring the right results, so really the snacks were crucial to the investigation... which is how Lila justified using her company card to pay for the chip bags, slushies, and jerky.

Her phone chirped with a jovial ringtone that she hadn't heard in years. Pocketing the credit card and snatching the bag of paid snacks from the countertop, she pulled her phone from her back pocket and nearly dropped it after reading the text—noticing that she also had one missed call.

|| PROFESSOR PLUM ||

Tribbles.

Lila's face paled and she rushed out the doors of the convenience shop. "Tess!"

However, as Lila neared the car, Tess seemed to be having problems of her own as smacked her open palm against the side of her phone which was currently blasting the Ghost Busters theme.

"Tess?" Lila questioned, her brow furrowing. "You okay?"

"No, I'm not okay," Tess retorted, smacking her phone again as if that would fix the problem. "Some punk hacked into the GPS system which gave them access to my phone."

Lila glanced at the coordinates glitching across the surface of the device before flipping her own phone around to show Tess the text. "Yeah, it's not just some punk... it's our punk."

Tess's lips tightened into a thin line while her eyes just barely concealed an anxious flicker of worry. "Get in the car."

"What about Highway 41?" Lila asked, posing the question of how they'd arrive in two places at once.

"The Winchesters are big boys, Lil," Tess replied, placing the fuel nozzle back on its tank before sliding into the driver's seat. "They'll just have to clean up their own mess. This is more important."

"Alright," Lila nodded her head in agreement, pulling closed the passenger door of the vehicle as she situated herself to get comfortable for the long drive ahead of them.

•⍟───✧⍟✦⍟✧───⍟•

TESS ADJUSTED THE COLLAR OF HER PRESSED SUIT WHILE TOYING WITH THE KEYS TO THE CAR IN HER OTHER. She wasn't fond of the stifling feeling of the suit and the regulations—she felt much more at home in a leather jacket out on the open road—however, she understood the importance of maintaining appearances when it came to the prestige of her job. Unlike most hunters, she and her sister had no need to fake their authority, not when they each had a genuine badge attached to their belt. There were pros and cons to working alongside the FBI as one of their elite agents, but tiptoeing back and forth across the line of the supernatural was tiring all the same.

"Why do you always try to look brooding and mysterious?" Lila asked, tilting her head as she acknowledged the habit. "You always mess with the suit whenever we get out of the car or step off the helicopter or enter an interrogation room."

"The adjectives you were looking for are hardcore and badass," Tess corrected matter-of-fact, "And that's the only way a woman earns respect in our occupational field. The cupcakes and rainbows mentality labels you a doormat. You have to let them know that they'll get stabbed if they try to walk over you."

Lila slowly nodded her head, evidently not believing a word her sister said. She turned her attention toward the institution building looming before them. "Ever think you'd step foot in an Ivy League?"

"Not for my own education, that's for sure," Tess agreed with a light scoff as she eyed the word 'HARVARD' plastered on the overhead sign. "However, I was holding out hope that we'd at least be invited to the grad ceremony. I'd like to think we were more agreeable than the other three. But for a case? No, the thought hadn't crossed my mind."

"Well, it has to be serious if he's reaching out to us," Lila noted aloud.

"Agreed," Tess nodded, adjusting the collar of her suit once more before motioning for her sister to follow her toward the crime scene located across campus.

Tess had been expecting local PD and law enforcement to be maintaining the crime scene. She hadn't been expecting to see other suits like her sister and herself. Then again, she hadn't exactly had time to look over the case file. From the way Lila described it, the death had been committed by an amateur or an animal. The Feds generally didn't involve themselves unless there were indicators of a greater threat. And by the mass number of suits flooding the crime scene, apparently something had gone wrong enough to call in the big guns.

Agent Calvin Reidy, an associate of Henriksen that the girls were more familiar with than they liked, greeted the pair of sisters as they approached the yellow tape. "Holmes. Watson."

"Reidy," Tess returned the greeting with a cold nod of her head. "Care to debrief us?"

Reidy nodded while his eyes remained out on the crowd of college students that milled about in the general area. He pulled back the police tape just long enough for the girls to join him on the other side. "When I requested backup, I didn't think Henriksen would be willing to send his best."

Tess's brow furrowed. "Are those his words or yours?"

"You didn't know?" Reidy chuckled, lifting his brow with amused surprise. "Henriksen boasts about your skill and competence around the office. And that as much as a pain in the ass the pair of you are, he wouldn't accept anyone else on his team."

"I thought he hated us," Lila admitted.

"Tough guy act," Reidy explained. "This line of work kinda hardens you up over time. Makes you emotionally constipated at times too. He's a good guy though. I worry about him. But if he's willing to send you over to my case, he might not be as obsessed with the Winchester case as I thought."

"Oh, he definitely needs some institutional help," Lila muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Reidy asked.

"Watson was just mentioning our healthy competition," Tess replied, making something up with ease. "But now that I've heard this side of things, I might have to take advantage of this information."

"As long as you didn't hear it from me," Reidy chuckled, introducing the girls to the team forensics. "Ladies, this is Dr. Strode. The forensics analyst we have working alongside us for this case."

Tess nodded her head. "Care to debrief us, Dr. Strode?"

"It'll be easier to show you," Dr. Strode offered an alternative suggestion as he led the trio of agents through the campus grounds toward the male dormitories. He paused—hand on the door of the marked off room—turning to look at the girls with a warning in his eyes. "I hope none of you are squeamish."

Lila's eyes widened with horror the second they stepped foot inside the room and saw the damage. Tess frowned. "What do the local beat cops believe happened here?"

"Wild animal," Dr. Strode replied, making his way over to the remains of the body. A body which was so disfigured and shredded that Tess could hardly make out what was once human about it.

Tess glanced back at Reidy. "And our guys?"

"Amateur hour," Reidy replied. However, his own expression betrayed his opinion on that suggestion as he grimaced and shook his head. "Although I've got another team working on a separate lead."

"You think an amateur is capable of all this?" Lila questioned, her brow furrowing as she glanced around the room. From the way her face paled and how her once rosy cheeks were tinted green, Tess could tell she was hardly holding it together. Lila enjoyed the mystery and solving puzzles, but she'd never been a fan of the gruesomeness that accompanied either line of work. Her soul was simply too soft for such a harsh world: a trait Tess felt she needed to protect against all the opposing odds. Lila's lips fell into a frown. "And your guys believe an amateur wouldn't leave a DNA trail at the scene of the crime?"

Reidy's brow furrowed. "How'd you know about the lack of DNA?"

Tess scoffed. "Because if you'd identified the unsub, you'd have an APB out on him already. It's not that hard to add one plus one to get two."

"What's your other team working on?" Lila asked, nodding her head while directing her gaze anywhere but the body on the ground and the blood that streamed against the walls.

"I wouldn't call it a lead," Reidy hesitantly offered the information, "but we have a potential suspect who fits the profile they've put together."

"Well?" Tess asked.

Reidy opened the file he'd been carrying beneath his arm, revealing the image of a ginger kid with a face full of freckles. He was young, undoubtedly a student attending the university as the girls immediately recognized the face of their baby brother.

"Phillip Singer," Reidy replied. "He's been on the FBI's watchlist for years and we have reason to believe he's finally snapped."

"And what reason would that be?" Lila asked.

"Chase Jameson, the vic," Reidy replied with a cold half-chuckle. "He was the kid's roommate. And no one's heard from him since the body was found—up and vanished."

Tess pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh, then glanced over at Lila with a knowing look. It was like an entire silent conversation occurred within the span of mere seconds before Tess straightened and adjusted her suit. "Send whatever files you can to The Charles Hotel down the street where we're staying. Room 316. Anything we have on Mr. Singer would be helpful as well."

"Were there any eye witnesses?" Lila questioned, looking up from the file. "Anyone nearby that heard anything or saw anything out of the ordinary that night?"

"The kid's girlfriend was the one to find the body," Reidy replied. "Reese Nelson, I think."

"We'll speak with her in the morning," Tess nodded, closing the file. "It's late and we had a decent drive. I'd like to get settled in and overview the information we do have to see if we can add anything to that profile of yours."

"I'll have those files sent over as soon as I can," Reidy agreed.

And then the agents parted ways without another word. It was only once they were long out of earshot—opening the door to their hotel room—that Lila began to express her concern.

"What are we going to do?" she asked—not quite hysteric, but it looked like she might get to that point soon if not assured everything would be alright. "I mean it's been hard enough to keep our lives separated with the Winchesters around. How are we gonna do that when our own brother is the key suspect of this investigation?"

"I don't know," Tess admitted, tossing her bag onto the nearest bed while reaching for the light switch. "I'm working on it."

"Where do we even start on locating him?" Lila added. "He could literally be anywhere."

The lamp across the room clicked on seconds before Tess flipped on the overhead light—halting her progress altogether in shock.

"I think I can help with that." And there he was: their little brother, casually sitting in one of their chairs as if he hadn't just been accused of murder.

Tess frowned. "What did you do?"

Phil matched her expression and added an eye roll. "Nice to see you too, Tess. Lila."

"You become a suspect in a murder investigation and your first thought was to run away from the crime scene?!" Lila exclaimed, throwing her arms up with frustration. "Do you realize how guilty that makes you look?"

"I didn't kill him," Phil calmly replied. "I didn't snap like they say I did."

"Even if you did kill him, we would have assumed it was a hunt," Tess countered. "You were an odd kid, but you never did anything without reason. Except this. Why'd you wait half a week before calling us?"

"I thought I could handle it on my own," Phil admitted, directing his gaze toward the ground. "But I'm rusty and quickly realized that was a mistake. Drew wouldn't pick up and Nate's out in California dealing with a vamp nest, which is when I called you."

"We weren't even the first people you called?" Tess was once again frowning. "You called Drew first? Really, Drew?"

"I'm not exactly on good terms with the FBI," Phil countered. "What matters is that I did call you, so are you going to help or not?"

Tess sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. The silence was loud between the three of them. Eventually, Lila nodded her head. "Tell us what happened."

"I was at the library prepping for the USMLE-3," Phil explained as if it were a casual thing to be doing. "I'd had several long rotations this week working rounds at the hospital... partially because I picked up hours, so I'm a bit hazy on some of the details."

"Phil," Tess said, interrupting the rant before it could really begin. "We get it. You're a hardworking genius. Now could we get back to the case?"

Phil nodded. "I get back to my room around two in the morning. The door's locked so I assume Chase is either asleep or staying with his girlfriend. I'm immediately proven wrong because Chase is found in pieces, scattered across the room as if he'd been torn apart."

"Any sign of a break in?" Lila asked.

Phil shook his head. "No sign of a break in or a struggle. Everything was just as we left it, albeit covered in blood."

"And so you just left?" Lila questioned. Her brow furrowed while she looked at her younger brother incredulously.

"I thought I saw something," Phil replied. "A flicker or a shadow outside, but by the time I realized that I was just exhausted and seeing things... well the cops had already flooded the scene and the FBI wasn't far behind."

"We need to take another look at that crime scene," Tess muttered more to herself than the others. The group was stunned into silence though as a knock resounded against the door.

A look of fear flashed into their brother's eyes, a look that was reflected on Lila's face as she rushed forward and pushed him out of the chair toward the closet. Tess waited just long enough for Lila to block the closet before opening the door of their hotel room.

A younger agent—one that looked twig-like in his pressed suit—stood outside, arms filled with files upon files related to the case they'd just picked up. Tess flashed her best fake smile, the one she wore to work most days, then extended her arms to accept the stack. "Thanks..."

"Agent Ryan," he introduced himself, perking up when it seemed that Tess appeared interested in his identity. "I'm a big fan of your work, Agent Holmes." He glanced beyond Tess, offering Lila a polite wave. "Both your work really. They say it's comparable to the actual Holmes and Watson. Maybe after we wrap things up we could go over the Reichenbach case?"

"Well, we'll—we'll have to see how pressed we are for time of course," Tess stammered. It wasn't often that their work was fawned over face to face. She understood they weren't exactly small-time around the agency, making names for themselves with each case they solved; however, it was the first time she'd heard about it in a positive light outside of a competitive environment. "Henriksen has us pretty bogged down with the Winchester case. I can't get into specifics, but catching a pair of psychotic serial killers unfortunately trumps lunch."

The agent nodded his head, not nearly as disappointed as Tess thought he'd be after the rejection. If anything, he appeared more enthusiastic about potentially receiving inside information about an ongoing case. "Yeah, of course. Agent Reidy left his number attached to the file in case you need to reach him. He requested that you call him the second you figure out where the Singer kid ran off to."

"Will do," Tess nodded, slowly closing the door with her foot since her arms still held the stack of files. "We'll call Reidy the second we catch a lead."

The agent grinned, walking down the hall with a slight skip to his step as if he'd conquered to world or met his idol. Tess sighed with relief the second the door closed behind her, leaning against the frame for support before tossing the files down onto her bed.

"Well he was nice," Lila chirped, ignoring the pounding and muffled shouts from the closet she was blocking.

"Lil."

"Yeah?"

"Would you let our brother out of the closet?" Tess asked.

"Oh right!" her eyes widened, remembering why she'd been leaning there in the first place. She stepped back and the door immediately opened.

Phil stumbled free, gasping for fresh breath. "It is unbearably hot in there."

"Don't be dramatic," Tess scoffed and rolled her eyes. "A breath of stale air isn't going to kill you."

Phil frowned and blinked. "I have asthma."

"And?" Tess asked as if requesting a better excuse.

Phil sighed and dusted off his shirt before changing the topic. "You had a case in Switzerland?"

"That's a long story," Tess shook her head. "So we can either reminisce over an old case, or we can try and solve the one that's trying to send you to jail."

Phil scoffed. "Glad to see nothing's changed. Alright, let's just get this over with."

"Geez," Lila snickered, playfully nudging their brother's arm. "No need to sound so enthusiastic."

Tess nodded her head in agreement—only she appeared more irritated than Lila. "Yeah, it's not like we dropped everything to come bail you out of trouble."

Phil sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thank you... I just want to get back to my life. I worked so hard to leave all this behind and it still managed to find me again. It's frustrating."

"We get it," Tess appeared more sympathetic, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder. "Once you start this life, it's damn near impossible to get out. And it only gets more complicated when you try to balance everyday life with the supernatural."

Lila placed a comforting hand on his other shoulder with a lopsided smile. "But we'll do our best to help."

"Thanks..." His gratitude was more genuine. For the first time that evening, his posture relaxed. His shoulders slumped and the dark bags under his eyes grew more apparent.

Lila frowned. "When was the last time you slept?"

"A couple hours... days ago?" Phil hesitantly answered as if uncertain. "Too busy studying."

"Lay down," Tess instructed, pushing him over onto the bed. He flopped onto the comforter with little coercion. Tess gathered the files from the edge of the bed and handed them over to Lila while pointing a finger at their brother. "Get some rest and lay low. We'll take a look at the crime scene on our own tonight and revisit it with you tomorrow morning."

"When there's cops swarming the scene?" Phil questioned with a yawn.

Lila nodded in agreement. "It's the place where you're least expected to be. You'd be hiding in plain sight. So get some sleep because a team is only as good as its weakest link."

"Are you calling me the weak link?" Phil's brow lifted.

Tess nodded without hesitation. "Yes. G'night, Rusty. Sleep tight."

"Don't let the vampires bite," Lila added as if finishing some twisted nursery rhyme.

Phil did not appear amused, muttering under his breath. "And I thought bed bugs were my biggest concern."

"Hey, you never know," Lila insisted with a shrug. "Maybe we're hunting some hybrid nest that evolved into a superior species of vampires that sparkle in the sun and move twice as fast as the normal ones do."

"Now you're just describing Twilight," Phil scoffed, but his eyes smiled ever so slightly as he slid beneath the covers—concealing his yawn as his face stretched with discomfort. "Turn off the light on your way out."

"Night, baby bro," Lila sang affectionately as she slipped out into the hall.

Phil mumbled his annoyance with a wave of his hand. Tess chuckled. "Get some rest."

"Yeah, yeah. I hear ya," Phil huffed, pulling the covers up over his head as if to block both sisters out. "No need to keep harping me about it, mom."

Tess rolled her eyes. "Keep ignoring me if you want a reason to be treated like a kid."

"You're gonna treat me like a kid either way," Phil yawned, the volume and coherence of his voice fading with each syllable. "Might as well act the part sometimes..."

Tess hesitated to close the door, staring through the crack of the door which kept a sliver of light on his thin frame. If she squinted just enough she was brought back to a moment of nostalgia. Keeping a watchful eye on those younger and older than her as if fulfilling a promise made to a grave. There was only so much she could do—she was only human afterall—but protecting them was like natural instinct. And right now something or someone was trying to hunt down one of her own. And that was not something she could stand by and watch.

"Can I get the blowtorch from the truck?" Lila asked in a low, yet devious tone.

As Tess finally closed their hotel room door and faced her sister, she was quite unlike herself. Gone was the giddy smile and lighthearted bounce in her step. There was a determination and a protective stance which mimicked Tess's own posture. Lila was nearly the youngest sibling, and she was certainly Daddy's little girl. But when it came to the actual youngest, it was like a fire was ignited and she could also partake in the role of mother hen. No one touched the Singer symbol of innocence and made it out alive. No one.

•⍟───✧⍟✦⍟✧───⍟•

THE SCENE BEFORE THEM WAS GRUESOME. No less so than before, but now that they could take the time to analyze the area, it was so much worse because it was possible to empathize with the victim as human since all his belongings and memorabilia lay scattered around the room. By the time they stepped foot inside the dorm, the one functioning clock which sat on Phil's dresser declared the time as 2:07.

"What could do something like this?" Lila asked under her breath as if fearing whatever answer may come.

"Just another thing that goes bump in the night," Tess replied with a sigh as she dusted off her gloved hands while taking a step back to survey the scene in its entirety once more. "Could be anything from a werewolf to a hellhound."

"You think he made a deal with the devil?" Lila's brow furrowed.

"He's a med student at an Ivy League school." Tess shrugged. "Probably half the student body has made a deal with a crossroads demon to either get accepted or stay afloat."

Tess glanced around the room, trying to notice anything bizarrely out of the ordinary before either sister took a closer look at the victim's belongings. The cracked clock on the wall looked as if it had been frozen as the time of death blinked on the wall like an omen in splattered blood. 6:66.

"Surely we're dealing with a demon of sorts... right?" Lila questioned, having also noted the apparent signs around the room. "Despite the blood and guts painting the walls, it's too clean to fit the description of anything else."

Tess couldn't ignore the nagging feeling in her gut that had sent chills running down her spine the second they stepped foot within the crime scene for the first time earlier the day before. "Yeah..."

"We should call dad," Lila announced what they were both thinking.

"Or maybe baby brother hasn't given us the whole story," Tess muttered under her breath.

Lila's eyes widened and she took a step back. "You think Phil made a demon deal?"

"Quite frankly I don't know what to think," Tess admitted. "You can't exactly say we really know the kid anymore, Lil. It's been over eight years since we last saw him."

"We need to call dad," Lila was more forceful this time, repeating herself with a steely look. "Even if it's just hypothetically a demon, dad doesn't want us anywhere near this sort of case."

"I could give a rat's ass about what dad does or doesn't want right now, Lil." Tess shook her head. "Something's off about this whole thing and until I can fill in some of those holes I'm not dragging dad into another mess. He's already cleaning up enough of those as is—"

As if the universe had been listening, Tess's phone began to vibrate from her back pocket. She sighed, pulling the device free then frowning at the unknown caller label which implied that someone had gotten ahold of her personal number. Skeptically, she answered the call.

"Bobby?"

Speak of the devil. Tess frowned and her jaw tensed as annoyance filled the air around her. "How'd you get this number?"

"Damn it, Sam." Dean sounded equally as annoyed.

"Alright, I'm hanging up," Tess announced.

"Wait!" Dean insisted. "Would you just wait a damn minute?"

"What?" Tess huffed. "I'm kinda in the middle of something."

"Sam gave me a list of people to call about this case we're working on," Dean explained. "You were listed as Bobby. Obviously, he knew I wouldn't call if I knew it was you—"

"You're rambling. How'd Sam even get my—" Tess glanced over her shoulder at her grinning sister. "Nevermind. How is life on Highway 41. I assume you got our warning about Henriksen?"

"That's how Sam knew the Feds were tracking us down?" Dean rhetorically questioned. "We closed that case down a couple days ago. We're working something fresh now. A werewolf."

"How easy." Tess deadpanned. "Load up on silver bullets and a shot to the head should do—"

"We know how to kill a werewolf," Dean interrupted. "We're not amateurs—"

"Then what the hell are you looking for: a cure?" Tess scoffed. The line was silent. Tess frowned. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Hey, it wasn't my idea," Dean protested. "But Sam's got this idea that she can be saved—"

"She?" Tess repeated. "You're looking for a cure because what? She's hot?"

Lila's brow furrowed as she only received one side of the conversation. Tess shook her head as if implying that she'd explain later.

"Do you know of a cure or not?"

Tess sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she wracked her head for any useful information. "There's an old wife's tale that if you kill the sire that the bitten will be released from the curse; however, I've never actually seen or heard of it working."

"We'll take our chances," Dean replied, leading Tess to believe there was more to the situation than he was telling her. "Now what case has gotten you so riled up?"

"Some sort of demon tore up a college kid," Tess admitted, hardly believing she'd receive any solid advice. "No sign of entry. No fight. Just a kid shredded across his own dorm room. We're thinking that it might just be a hellhound that collected on its deal. Either it's still lurking around because a crossroads demon is preying on desperate Ivy Leaguers, or it's gone and we'll never catch wind of it again."

"Never known a hellhound to not make a mess of things though," Dean countered. "They're pretty one-minded and willing to attack anything that gets into the way. Break down doors, shatter windows, the usual sort of damage."

"Well then what do you suggest?" Tess retorted. "'Cause I've got another kid being framed here and we're running out of time to clear his name since he decided to run."

"Ever think that maybe the kid is guilty?" Dean suggested.

Tess frowned. "He's not."

"I'm just saying that maybe this kid summoned something without knowing what he was getting himself into," Dean added. "You remember the demon that possessed Sam about a month or so back?"

"Meg or something, right?" Tess nodded, losing patience as to where the conversation was headed.

"Right," Dean agreed. "Well back when Sam didn't know she was a demon and was sweet on her—"

"How many monsters is your brother trying to hook up with?" Tess hissed, lowering her voice so Lila wouldn't hear as the younger sister kept searching for any identifying clues as to what they were hunting down.

"That's beside the point," Dean countered. "As I was saying, Meg summoned a Daeva to hunt us down while trying to bring our dad out of hiding."

"A Daeva?" Tess repeated, loud enough to draw Lila back into the conversation.

"An invisible demon that tears its victims apart," Dean explained. "No sign of entry. No fight. Sound like what you're looking for?"

"Surprisingly, you may be on to something," Tess agreed. "How do we kill it?"

"If you girls are dealing with a Daeva you might want to call Bobby." Dean sounded uneasy as he spoke. "I don't say this lightly, but Sam and I barely made it out alive after our encounter."

Tess scoffed. "I'm sure we can handle it."

"Daeva don't just show up on their own," Dean insisted. "They're summoned and controlled by an amulet or shrine. And they have a way of biting back against the hand that feeds them. Your monster didn't just appear out of thin air, something phoned in a favor and if they can't control the damn thing they're probably next on the list—"

Lila's phone began to ring. The Original Star Trek series theme adding an eerie ambience to the dark room. She flipped the screen around to reveal it was in fact their younger brother calling. Lila quickly answered and her face immediately paled. "Tess..."

"I've got to go," Tess said, preparing to hang up.

"Light!" Dean exclaimed.

"What?"

"It doesn't kill 'em, but they certainly don't like bright lights," Dean explained. "It might just give you enough time to get out."

"Thanks," Tess sounded genuine as she noted her appreciation before hanging up and turning toward her sister expectantly.

Lila didn't need to say a word for Tess to grasp that the situation wasn't great. Synchronized as if operating on the same frequency, the girls sprinted from the dorm room and rushed back toward their hotel. Lila had yet to speak—an oddity in itself as her sister hated silence—but from the way she bit her lip and her eyes darted to check the time every few minutes, Tess knew they were treading dangerous waters and losing time.

Before heading up toward their room, Tess snatched a couple of flash bangs from the trunk and a fresh magazine. Quickly, but light on their toes, the girls sprinted down the hall—only briefly catching their breath before kicking open the door. The slab of wood splintered through the jamb and slammed against the wall with a large crash. Tess lunged forward first, then Lila followed her through the entryway.

The room was empty... but trashed. Papers were strewn everywhere: the beds, the floors, some even scratched into the walls. Each lightbulb was shattered, and the only reason they could see the mess before them was the flashlights they carried on hand.

"There's no blood," Tess noted, ever-so-slightly calming the panicked expression on her sister's face. "He's not dead."

"The Daeva?" Lila questioned, a tremor hitching her voice.

Tess shook her head. "I don't think so. Dean said these things aren't controlled easily, but they don't seem to make a mess like this."

"So then what?" Lila asked, her brow furrowed. "We're dealing with something else or more than one monster?"

"I don't know—" Tess paused. The crunch under her foot after taking a step forward was enough to stop her in her tracks. She lifted her boot, revealing a now crumpled piece of folded paper that seemed purposefully left by the door. Slowly, she bent over, reading the page as she picked it up off the floor. Her eyes immediately hardened. "It's a ransom note."

"What do they want?" Lila's eyes held a similar fury. A flame that matched the hue of her hair as her expression grew stoic.

"To meet," Tess replied, turning the note around to reveal that it had been addressed to The Singer Sisters. "Our presence has been requested at the Harvard Towers Parking Garage."

"So it's a trap," Lila noted.

"Pretty much," Tess agreed.

"Any additional demands?" Lila asked, crossing her arms after she placed her gun back in its holster.

Tess shook her head. "Which means they either don't consider us a threat, or they have a card in their hand which would make our skills seem obsolete."

"Say something like a Daeva," Lila nodded, putting two and two together. "I suppose we should grab a few extra flash bangs."

•⍟───✧⍟✦⍟✧───⍟•

THE GARAGE WAS ABANDONED. Not abandoned as in empty, but as in lifeless. Despite the cars that sat in each parking spot, there was a student or faculty member in sight. Something skittered through the dark, likely a rat or some other rodent that pest control hadn't taken care of. Tess and Lila calmly walked through each level, starting from the top and working their way down into the underground. They'd barely taken two steps down the final tunnel and turned on their flashlight when the silence was broken.

"That's close enough."

Their blood ran cold. Tess lifted her flashlight, revealing their petrified brother bound and gagged and the very demon that neither girl had hoped to see in a long while.

"Why the sour look, Singer?" Twitch asked, a smug grin toying at his lips. "Didn't I tell you and Red that I'd be back?"

"Let him go," Lila demanded, putting on a good show of concealing her fear by covering it with rage. "This has nothing to do with him."

"Au contraire," Twitch tsked and tutted as if she'd said foolish. "You didn't think it was just the two of you that caught my attention, did you? No, this has quite a bit to do with him. And not just him, but the other three as well. You see... this is a family affair."

Similar to their first encounter, the girls were thrust against the wall. Pinned and unable to move of their own vocation. What differed is that their weapons were tossed aside along with the flask of holy water that Tess carried and the flash bangs that Lila had been responsible for carrying.

"So you're the reason that college kid was shredded," Tess said, fighting against the hold keeping her frozen in place. "Was he just a tool to lure us into town?"

"Not intentionally," Twitch admitted. "The kid was looking to make a deal to surpass his academic rivals. I offered an amulet that would knock the competition dead. Did I specify that I meant literally? No, but it was in the small print of the contract. The kid simply failed to follow the instructions of how to use the amulet properly. And you know the rest."

"So why not just use the Daeva against us?" Lila asked.

"Here's the thing, Red," Twitch turned, leaning against the wall beside them as if this were simply a casual conversation. "There's some strings being pulled behind the scenes that you don't understand. See I don't want to kill you—I mean I do, but that would be counterproductive without the ability to hold onto your souls."

"So then what?" Tess scoffed. "You expect us to make a deal to get out of this?"

"While that may be preferred," Twitch agreed then offered an alternative, "It's not the only option. Your family and I have more history than you might believe. Now thanks to your dear mother, I've got a deal to collect on that's about twenty-two years overdue."

"What are you talking about?" Tess snapped. "Our mother was a victim. She wouldn't willingly make a deal with a crossroads demon!"

"But do you know that for certain?" Twitch asked, a smirk twisting his features. "So here's the deal. Red's gonna drink a drop of my blood—"

"Ew," Tess's nose wrinkled.

"Gross!" Lila's face twisted with disgust.

Twitch deadpanned. "Red is going to drink a drop of my blood. When she dies, her soul is tainted and mine to claim."

"The hell she is," Tess snarled, fighting harder against his hold.

"She will. And you know why?" Twitch asked rhetorically. "Because if she doesn't, I'm going to have that Daeva you mentioned earlier tear your brother apart."

"What happened to not being able to use the Daeva to kill us?" Lila incredulously asked.

"Your brother serves as the exception since it's within my contract with his roommate," Twitch explained. "The only reason he's remained alive this long is to act as a bargaining chip."

Twitch pulled a chain from beneath the collar of his shirt, lifting the amulet he'd been referring to earlier. As if summoned, the flashlights that the girls had been using flickered off, leaving the garage tunnel in darkness. Eerie whispers filled the space around them, whipping around their hair as the shadows along the wall moved. Scratches appeared and disappeared as if a creature was walking along the walls, growing closer to Phil's shadow with each passing second.

"Fine!" Lila exclaimed. "Just don't hurt him!"

Twitch grinned, his eyes glowing red in the dim light. The Daeva paused, but Phil continued to squirm in his binds—presumably shuddering in fear as it had been years since the boy had last dealt with the supernatural. The dark prevented Tess from actually seeing the interaction, but she could hear as Lila choked on the drop of demon blood.

Lila gasped for fresh air after forcing herself to swallow. "Now let us go!"

Twitch was silent, too silent for either of their liking. "The thing is, I'm contractually obligated to complete the terms of my deal to collect the Jameson boy's soul. And if the Daeva spirals out of control and happens to take the two of you with your brother... Well, there's two souls with one stone."

The shadow of the Daeva moved along the wall, projected by the natural moonlight that seeped through the cracks of the building. However, as it lunged toward Tess, the creature screeched as a blinding light enveloped the entire tunnel. There was the sound of something shattering, a cry of outrage, and suddenly Tess found herself in the company of gravity once more as she fell to the ground.

Although her eyes were wide open, she was floundering about blind as she'd been caught off guard by the flash bang that had gone off. Her ears whined as the sensory overload compromised her balance. The next thing she knew, someone or something had taken her hand and was dragging her uphill. She could only assume she was leaving the depths of the sub level floor of the parking garage.

This thought was confirmed by the turning of the key in Harrison's ignition after she was tossed into the backseat of the vehicle. Thankfully, she wasn't alone as her sister's hair got caught in her mouth while the two tried to rearrange themselves despite their inability to see. Slowly, her vision began to clear and the whine in her ears dulled enough to hear the soft music playing on the radio as they cruised down a backroad on some backwater country road. The mess of short ginger hair poking out over the front seat bobbed along to the tune of the Animal's "House of the Rising Sun."

"Phil?" Tess questioned, blinking rapidly to finish clearing her vision. She glanced over to her right, confirming that Lila in fact was the individual she'd assumed was beside her. Refusing to take a chance, she glanced into the rearview mirror and made eye contact with her brother. "Christo."

"Not a demon," Phil muttered, his eyes remaining the same shade of green that she was familiar with.

"How long were we out?" Lila asked, rubbing her eyes. "Better question: how did we get out?"

"About an hour," Phil replied. "Driving through Greenville, Rhode Island now. As for the how, while your demon buddy was monologuing I slipped out of the ropes he'd tied me up with and set off one of the flash bangs that had rolled over when you dropped them. Then I smashed the amulet, grabbed the two of you, and ran. Tess had the keys to your car in her jacket pocket, and once I pressed the panic button I had no issues finding it."

"How come you weren't affected?" Tess asked.

"I pushed the gag up over my eyes to protect them while the flash bang went off," Phil explained. "And since I'm still technically on the run, I assumed heading to Dad's would be the safest bet. I know you aren't exactly on the best of terms, but Dad knows more about this demon stuff than just about anyone else."

"That's not exactly true anymore," Lila shrugged. "We've been working with Dad for a few weeks now. It's definitely the best option that's for sure. Now does anyone have some water that I can use to wash my mouth out? I've got an awful aftertaste."

"How are you feeling?" Tess asked, concern evident on her face.

"I'm fine," Lila shrugged half-heartedly. "At least I think I am. I haven't grown horns or a third eye, right?"

"Not that I can see... Thank you," Phil called from the front seat, glancing in the rearview mirror. "Don't get me wrong it was incredibly stupid, but you did it with the intention of saving my life. I'll get to work on some research about the effects of demon blood once I have access to Dad's library."

"Guys, I'm fine," Lila insisted.

"He tainted your soul, Lil. You're not fine," Tess contradicted. "The second you die he's coming back to claim your soul as if it's simply another crossroad deal. We have no idea what that timeline may be. And even if we did, Twitch doesn't strike me as the type of demon that's against foul play."

"His name is Twitch?" Phil asked, wrinkling his nose. "What kind of demon name is Twitch?"

"That's exactly what I asked!" Lila exclaimed, attempting to change the topic of conversation. "Sounds pretty unprofessional to me."

"Lil, this is serious," Tess frowned, adamant that they discuss the issue. "We're talking about eternity in hell here."

"And we'll figure out a way to fix it," Lila nodded. "I've got my two smartest siblings here to help. If anyone is able to find a way to untaint a soul it's you."

Tess sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Fine... but no one tells Dad."

•⍟───✧⍟✦⍟✧───⍟•

AUTHOR'S NOTE| And I'm back with another update! It's been awhile but this fic still holds a special place in my heart. It's so fun to explore the dynamics of these siblings and the supernatural world aside from the pieces we see when following the Winchesters. Feel free to vote and leave a comment, and thanks for reading!

•⍟───✧⍟✦⍟✧───⍟•

¡ 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 !