Ruby slept for a lot of the long drive. She'd been sleeping a lot lately. Sam had been too, because of the gunshot. And Dean, well she had no idea what Dean did. He said hunters only need a few hours of sleep a night. They have to because they need to stay up doing research and stuff.

For the last part of the drive, Sam broke the tension by telling Ruby about these terrible creatures called rugarus. They ate people's flesh. Fire defeated it. Then he told her about ghosts. How vengeful spirits are made. Their souls stay behind after they die because they have unfinished business. At some point, they become violent. They can't pass over lines of salt, like demons, and iron dissipates them. Burning their bones sends them away permanently.

Not much later, they pulled into a motel. Outside one of the rooms stood a beautiful blonde woman. She was tall and had kind eyes. She smiled at Sam and Dean. Dean didn't even bother getting his things out of the trunk. He went up to her and hugged her. She looked over his shoulder and saw Ruby. Ruby read her lips "Who's that?"

Ruby turned around and helped Sam get some things out of the trunk.

"Hi, I'm Mary." Ruby turned around and saw the Winchester's mother walking towards her. "I'm told you're Ruby. My son's girlfriend. I'm guessing it's complicated." She laughed, shrugging it off.

"Yeah," Ruby laughed and Mary embraced her, which surprised Ruby. She already liked Mary.

• • •

After they'd settled in, Mary began telling them about the lead she found. "The reason I left you two was because a girl named Ava came and found me. She was looking for you, Sam. She'd had a vision of your death. I hid that from you; I figured that'd make it easier - that you'd be less likely to die." She said the word die like it was a regular thing for her, which Ruby guessed it might be. "I'd left her in a hotel room nearby. I went to get her after the time when the vision would have happened passed. She was gone, kidnapped." Mary was quiet, probably waiting for them to be surprised and ask questions.

Dean just looked down at his hands and said "I guess this would be a good time to tell you about Sammy and Ruby's visions."

Ruby could tell Mary was angry. She got up from the table, sensing that this was a private family matter. She ran into a lamp, but caught it as it was about to hit the floor. So much for a discrete exit. She was closing the door behind her when Sam caught it. She walked up to the Impala and leaned against the hood. Sam closed the door quietly.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm not part of that argument. Dean was the one who didn't want to tell her. I told them we're going out to get some supplies. Let's go."

Sam kept glancing at her. At first, she pretended not to notice, but once, she snapped "Look at the road." He obeyed. She was stubborn. He knew that if he asked what was going on with her, she'd shut him out.

They stopped at a gas station. While Sam filled up the tank, Ruby went inside to get some food and more shaving cream. She didn't care if it was the freaking apocalypse - she was going to have smooth legs.

The music over the speakers turned to static. She turned the corner and a man with dark hair and black eyes stood in front of her. Black eyes meant all black - iris, pupil, and the whites of his eyes. He was a demon. Ruby tried to turn and run, but he put his hand on her shoulder. She looked out the window and saw another man with his hand on Sam's shoulder.

Everything went black.

• • •

Ruby opened her eyes. She saw the gray sky, but didn't register it for a few seconds. It was the kind of gray that made everything seem bleak - a shade darker. Thankfully, nothing hurt. She was just disoriented.

She sat up. She was lying on a dirt road in a Wild West type town. She stood up and turned around. Sam was lying there, his head facing the setting sun. He sat up suddenly. Ruby silently went next to him and sat on the ground, cross legged.

"Any idea what's going on?" she asked. She had the terrifying sense of being watched, but seemed to remain calm. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing up.

"Not exactly. I know demons got us, and that's never a good sign. Come on." He pulled Ruby to her feet and they started walking to the nearest building. The inside looked like a schoolhouse from a long time ago.

"Look for things we can use as defense." Sam told her, moving to the back of the room. He found a fire poker - apparently, those are made of iron and can make ghosts disappear. He was walking toward Ruby when a something appeared behind her. It's claw like hands reached for her. It was only a little girl, but she didn't look human. Sam took a chance and swung the iron through the thing.

"What was that?"

"I think it was an achiri - a demon that disguises itself as a little girl. I'm sure there's more where that came from," Sam said ominously.