"Alright, I figure we’d hit Tucumcari by lunch, then head south, hit Bisbee by midnight." Dean said as we pull up to a gas station. We look over at Sam but he was to busy checking his e-mail. "Sam?" I said to get his attention but he ignores me. "Sam wears women’s underwear." Dean said and I began to laugh. "I’ve been listenin’, I’m just busy." He said to us. "Busy doin’ what?" I asked him. "Reading e-mails." Sam said as Dean gets out of the car and starts to fill the tank with gas.

"E-mails from who?" I asked him. "From my friends at Stanford." Sam replied. "You’re kidding. You still keep in touch with your college buddies?" Dean asked. "Why not?" Sam said, shrugging. "Well, what exactly do you tell ‘em? You know, about where you’ve been, what you've been doin’?" I asked him. "I tell ‘em I’m on a road trip with my big brother and an old childhood friend. I tell ‘em I needed some time off after Jess." Sam replied.

"Oh, so you lie to ‘em." Dean said. "No. I just don’t tell ‘em….everything." Sam stammers. "Yeah, that’s called lying." I said and he glares at me over his shoulder. "I mean, hey, man, I get it, tellin’ the truth is far worse." I said to him. "So, what am I supposed to do, just cut everybody out of my life?" Sam asked us and Dean and I shrug at this. "You guys serious?" Sam asked us, disbelieving. "Look, it sucks, but in a job like this, you can’t get close to people, period." Dean said to Sam. "Yeah, it's better this way." I said.
"You guys are kind of anti-social, you know that? I mean, I didn't expect that from you, (y/n)." Sam said and I shrug as Dean said. "Yeah, whatever."

"Time changes people Sam." I said as I give him an I'm sorry look. "God…." He grumbled after he leans back in his seat and reads his e-mail. "What?" We asked him. "In this e-mail from this girl, Rebecca Warren, one of those friends of mine." Sam replied. "Is she hot?" Dean asked and I glared over at him. "Really? That's what your biggest concern?" I asked him and he shrugs at me.

"I went to school with her, and her brother, Zack. She says Zack’s been charged with murder. He’s been arrested for killing his girlfriend. Rebecca says he didn’t do it, but it sounds like the cops have a pretty good case." Sam said as Dean and I glanced over at him. "Dude, what kind of people are you hangin’ out with?" Dean asked him. "No, man, I know Zack. He’s no killer." Sam said, firmly. "Well, maybe you know Zack as well as he knows you." I said to him.

"They’re in St. Louis. We’re goin’." Sam said after he reads over the email, which makes Dean chuckle. "Look, sorry ‘bout your buddy, okay? But this does not sound like our kind of problem." Dean said to him. "It is our problem. They’re my friends." said Sam. "St. Louis is four hundred miles behind us, Sam." I exclaimed then the three of us exchange a look. And a minute later, we pull out of the gas station and start driving off.

Sam knocked on the door and his friend, Rebecca, answers it. Once she sees Sam, her eyes light up and she smiles. "Oh my God, Sam!" She exclaims, happily. "Well, if it isn’t little Becky." Sam teased and she rolls her eyes. "You know what you can do with that little Becky crap." She said as she smiles then they hug.

"I got your e-mail." Sam said. "I didn’t think that you would come here." She said as Dean steps forward and extends his hand. "Dean. Older brother." He introduces and she shakes his hand. "Hi." She said. "Hi." He said, giving a smirk. Then I extend my hand to her. "(Y/n). An old school friend of his." I said as I nod towards Sam. "Hello." She said as she takes my hand and shakes it.

"We’re here to help. Whatever we can do." Sam said once Becky and I stopped shaking hands. "Come in." She said and we walk inside the house, and Dean shuts the door behind us. "Aw, how sweet." I teased and he smirks. "What can I say, I'm a gentleman." He said. "You're a lot of things, but a gentleman is not one of them." I said. "Hey! I can be!" He said and I scoff at this. "Yeah, sure." I said as we walk deeper into the house.

"Nice place." I said as I looked around the house. "It’s my parents’. I was just crashing here for the long weekend when everything happened. I decided to take the semester off. I’m gonna stay until Zack’s free." Becky said to me. "Where are your folks?" Sam asked her. "They live in Paris for half the year, so they’re on their way home now for the trial." She replied as we enter the kitchen.

"Do you guys want a beer or something?" She offered us and Dean smiles. "Hey—" he started to say but Sam talks over him. "No, thanks. So, tell us what happened." He said and Dean frowns a bit.

"Well, um, Zack came home, and he found Emily tied to a chair. And she was beaten up and bloody, and she wasn’t breathing." She said and she starts to cry. "So, he called 911, and the police—they showed up, and they arrested him. But, the thing is, the only way that Zack could’ve killed Emily is if he was in two places at the same time. The police—they have a video. It’s from the security tape from across the street. And it shows Zack coming home at 10:30. Now, Emily was killed just after that, but I swear, he was here with me, having a few beers until at least after midnight." She cries.

"You know, maybe we could see the crime scene. Zack’s house." Sam said. "We could." I said as Dean nods. "Why? I mean, what could you do?" Becky asked, confused. "Well, me, not much. But Dean and (y/n) are cops." Sam said and Dean and I chuckle. "Detectives, actually." Dean said and I nodded.

"Really?" Becky asked and we nod at her. "Where?" She asked. "Bisbee, Arizona. But we're off-duty now." I replied, quickly. "You guys, it’s so nice to offer, but I just—I don’t know." Becky stammers. "Bec, look, I know Zack didn’t do this. Now, we have to find a way to prove that he’s innocent." Sam tries to assure her. She looks between the three of us then nods. "Okay. I’m gonna go get the keys." She said and she walks away, down the hall.

"Oh, yeah, man, you’re a real straight shooter with your friends." Dean said, sarcastically. "Look, Zack and Becky need our help." Sam said. "I just don’t think this is our kind of problem." Dean said, shrugging. "Two places at once? We’ve looked into less, Dean." I said and he looks at me then sighs in defeat.

"You’re sure this is okay?" Becky asked Dean and I as we get out of the car and walk up to Zack's house. "Yeah. (Y/n) and I are officers of the law." Dean said and we walk to the house. Becky stays on the porch steps as the boys snd I enter the house and look around. The furniture and walls of the house are smeared with blood. 

"Bec, you wanna wait outside?" Sam asked her. "No. I wanna help." She said and she ducks under the police tape and enters the house. "Tell us what else the police said." I said to her. "Well, there’s no sign of a break-in. They say that Emily let her attacker in. The lawyers—they’re already talking about plea bargain." Becky said, tearfully, as she looks around the room, crying. "Oh, God…." She cries and Sam walks up to her.

"Look, Bec, if Zack didn’t do this, it means someone else did. Any idea who?" He asked her and she shakes her head, then begins to remember something. "Um, there was something, about a week before. Somebody broke in here and stole some clothes—Zack’s clothes. The police—they don’t think it’s anything. I mean, we’re not that far from downtown. Sometimes people get robbed." She said and Sam walks away. Dean moves to the open front door and sees a dog, barking loudly. Becky and I come up behind him. "You know, that used to be the sweetest dog." She pointed out.

"What happened?" Dean asked her. "He just changed." She replies, shrugging. "Do you remember when he changed?" I asked her, curiously. "I guess around the time of the murder." She said as Dean and I look at her, then at each other before we walk away and over to Sam, who was in the hallway looking a framed picture.

"So, the neighbor’s dog went psycho right around the time Zack’s girlfriend was killed." Dean said to him. "Animals can have a sharp sense of the paranormal." Sam said. "Yeah, maybe Fido saw somethin’." Dean said. "So, you think maybe this is our kind of problem?" Sam asked him and Dean shakes his head. "No. Probably not." He said. "But we should look at the security tape, you know, just to make sure." I suggested and Sam nods. "Yeah." He and Dean said as Becky walks over to us.

"So, the tape. The security footage—you think maybe your lawyers could get their hands on it, ‘cause we just don’t have that kind of jurisdiction." Dean said to her. "I’ve already got it. I didn’t wanna say something in front of the cops." She said and Dean and I laugh. "I stole it off the lawyer’s desk. I just had to see it for myself." She said to us. "All right." Dean and I said and we leave the house.

Back at Becky's parents house, we sit in the living room as she shows us the security footage. "Here he comes." She said as the tape shows Zack entering his house. "22:04, that’s just after ten. You said time of death was about 10:30." Dean said to her. "Our lawyers hired some kind of video expert. He says the tape’s authentic. It wasn’t tampered with." Becky said when Sam speaks up.

"Hey, Bec, can we take those beers now?" He asked her. "Oh, sure." She said as she gets up to go to the kitchen. "Hey." He said and she turns around. "Maybe some sandwiches, too?" He asked her. "What do you think this is, Hooters?" She asked him but she shakes her head and smirks then leaves the room.

"I wish." Dean said as he watches her. I slapped his shoulder and he looks over at him and I give a seriously? look before I walk over to Sam. "What is it?" I asked him as Dean comes up behind me. "Check this out." He said and be rewinds the tape, then replays it. One of the frames shows Zack looking directly at the camera, his eyes are silver. Sampauses the tape. "Well, maybe it’s just a camera flare." Dean said.

"That’s not like any camera flare I’ve ever seen." I said and Sam nods. "Neither have I. You know, a lot of cultures believe that a photograph can catch a glimpse of the soul." said Sam. "Right." Dean said. "Remember that dog that was freakin’ out? Maybe he saw this thing. Maybe this is some kind of dark double of Zack’s, something that looks like him but isn’t him." I said to Dean. "Like a Doppelganger." Dean said and I nodded. "Yeah. It’d sure explain how he was two places at once." Sam said.

"Alright, so what are we doin’ here at 5:30 in the morning?" Dean asked Sam as we get out of the Impala and head towards Zack's house. "I realized something. The videotape shows the killer goin’ in, but not comin’ out." Sam said. "So, he came out the back door?" I asked as Dean leans against the hood of his car. "Right. So, there should be a trail to follow. A trail the police would never pursue." Sam said. "‘Cause they think the killer never left. And they caught your friend Zack inside." I said and Sam nods.

"I still don’t know what we’re doin’ here at 5:30 in the morning." Dean groans and Sam and I look around the outside of the building, and notice blood smeared on a nearby telephone pole. "Blood. Somebody came this way." I said. "Yeah, but the trail ends. I don’t see anything over here." Dean said when an ambulance drives past us, and the three of us exchange a look.

We followed the ambulance and observe the scene as an Asian man is handcuffed and is stepping into a police car. "What happened?" Dean asked a nearby woman. "He tried to kill his wife. Tied her up and beat her." The woman replied. "Really?" I asked her. "I used to see him going to work in the morning. He’d wave, say hello. He seemed like such a nice guy." The woman said as we watch the man get taken away.

Sam and I were on the side of the newly arrested man's house, looking around. We looks inside two garbage cans but find nothing. We move to the front of the house, when Dean comes behind us. "Hey." Dean said as we turn around. "Remember when I said this wasn’t our kind of problem?" Dean said. "Yeah." Sam and I said. "Definitely our kind of problem." Dean said. "What’d you find out?" I asked him. "Well, I just talked to the patrolman who was first on the scene, heard this guy, Alex’s story. Apparently the dude was driving home from a business trip when his wife was attacked." Dean replied.

"So, he was two places at once." Sam said and Dean nods. "Exactly. Then he sees himself in the house, police think he’s a nutjob." Dean said. "Two dark doubles attacking loved ones in exactly the same way." I said as I place a finger on my chin, thinking. "Could be the same thing doin’ it, too." Dean said and Sam looks at us. "Shapeshifter?" He asked us and Dean shrugs. "Possibly." I said.

"Something that can make itself look like anyone?" Sam asked. "Every culture in the world has a shapeshifter lore. You know, legends of creatures who can transform themselves into animals or other men." Dean said. "Right, skinwalkers, werewolves." Sam said. "We’ve got two attacks within blocks of each other. I’m guessin’ we’ve got a shapeshifter prowlin’ the neighborhood." I said.

"Let me ask you guys this—in all this shapeshifter lore, can any of them fly?" Sam asked Dean and I. "Not that I know of." I said as Dean shakes his head. "I picked up a trail here. Someone ran out the back of this building and headed off this way." Sam said. "Just like your friend’s house." Dean said. "Yeah. And, just like at Zack’s house, the trail suddenly ends. I mean, whatever it is just disappeared." Sam said. "Well, there’s another way to go—down." I said and we look down and notice a manhole.

Once we climbed down the manhole, we began to look around  "I bet this runs right by Zack’s house, too. The shapeshifter could be using the sewer system to get around." Sam said. "I think you’re right. Look at this." Dean said and we bend down and examine a pile of blood and skin on the ground, the three of us look at it disgusted.

"Is this from his victims?" Sam asked as Dean takes out a pocketknife and holds up some of what looks like skin. "You know, I just had a sick thought. When the shapeshifter changes shape—maybe it sheds." I said, my stomach churning as I say this outloud. "That is sick." Sam said as Dean puts the bloody pile back on the ground.

Dean opens the trunk and takes out some weapons. "Well, one thing I learned from Dad, is that no matter what kind of shapeshifter it is, there’s one sure way to kill it." Dean said. "Silver bullet to the heart." Sam and I said and Dean nods. "That’s right." He said as Sam’s cell phone rings. He answers it. "This is Sam. We’re near Zack’s, we’re just checkin’ some things out. What are you talkin’ about?" He said and Dean and I look over at him as he scoffs.

"Why would you do that?" Sam asked. "Bec---We’re tryin’ to help. Bec, I’m sorry, but—" he stammers but he has a look of disappointment as he pulls his phone away from his ear. "I hate to say it, but that’s exactly what I’m talkin’ about. You lie to your friends because if they knew the real you, they’d be freaked. It’s just—it’d be easier if—" Dean said until Sam turns sharply to us. "If I was like you or (y/n)." He spat.

"Sam, like it or not, we are not like other people." I said to him, calmly. "But I’ll tell you one thing. This whole gig—it ain’t without perks." Dean said as he holds up a gun and Sam takes it and puts it in the back of his jeans. Dean holds up another gun to me and I take it and we walk away and head back to the manhole.

After entering the sewer, we keep looking around with our flashlights and guns. "I think we’re close to its lair." I said. "Why do you say that?" Sam asked me. "Because there’s another puke-inducing pile next to your face." I said and Sam turns and sees another pile of blood and skin on a nearby pipe. "Oh, God!" He said, disgusted and we look around the area and see a pile of clothes in a corner.

"Looks like it’s lived here for a while." Dean said. "Who knows how many murders he’s gotten away with?" Sam said then he turns. "Dean! (Y/n)!" Sam shouts and we turn around when Dean gets punched by the shapeshifter. He falls to the ground, and the shapeshifter  shoves me down then runs away. Sam and I shoot after it a few times but miss. Sam and I move over to Dean. "Get the son of a bitch!" Dean shouts and we run away, following the shapeshifter.

Later, we come out of the manhole and look around. "All right, let’s split up." Sam said. "All right, I’ll meet you guys around the other side." Dean said. "All right." Sam and I said and we walk away in separate directions.

I looked around as best as I could but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. I turned a corner and almost bump into Sam, which made him jump and raise his gun but stops when he sees its me. "Oh, God. I almost shot you." He said, breathless. "Well thank God you didn't." I said when Dean comes up behind him. "Hey. Anything?" Dean asked us. "No. He’s gone." Sam said. "All right, let’s get back to the car." Dean said and we crosses the street.

"You think he found another way underground?" I asked the boys. "Yeah, probably. You got the keys?" Dean asked and Sam stops and I look over at Sam as he has this thinking face. Then he turns to Dean. "Hey, didn’t Dad once face a shapeshifter in San Antonio?" Sam asked him. "Oh, that was Austin. It turned out not to be a shapeshifter, it was a thought form. A psychic projection, remember?" Dean said. "Oh, right. Here ya go." Sam said and he throws the keys to Dean then grabs my arm and pulls me to the side.

"What?" I asked him, quietly, and he gives me a worried look. "That's not Dean." He whispers to the point he was just mouthing the words. "You sure?" I asked, also in a whisper. He nods and said. "He caught those keys with his left hand, which is injured." My eyes widen and then I look over at Dean then back to Sam and nod at him.

We walk over to the fake Dean as he opens the trunk and observes all the weapons. "Don’t move!" I shouted as Sam and I aim our gun at him. "What have you done with him?" Sam asked the shapeshifter, angrily. "Guys, chill. It’s me, all right?" The shapeshifter said, nervously. "No, I don’t think so. Where’s Dean?" I asked him. "You’re about to shoot him. Sam...(y/n), calm down." The shapeshifter said.

"You caught those keys with your left. Your shoulder was hurt." Sam said and Dean's eyes dart back and forth. "Yeah, it’s better. What do you guys want me to do, cry?" He asked. "You’re not my brother." Sam said. "Why don’t you and (y/n) pull the trigger, then? Hm? ‘Cause you’re not sure." The shapeshifter said as he looks between us, my hand shook slightly as I start to question it myself.

"Guys, you know me." Dean said as he walks a bit closer to us. "Don’t." I threatened. The shapeshifter pauses but before I knew it, I see a flash of movement, a pain in my head before I blackout.