𝐃𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐍

𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄

"We're Troy's uncles—I'm Dean, this is Sammy. This is my girlfriend, Kat." For emphasis, Dean threw his arm over Katherine's shoulders and tugged the girl closer to him. She plastered a smile on her face rather quickly, an arm winding around his back. Sam glared at the mention of the old nickname, and Katherine threw him a sympathetic smile. He smiled himself and shook his head.

"He never mentioned you to me," Amy says, starting up the street with a quick suspicious glance over the Winchesters. 

"Well, that's Troy, I guess," Dean tells her. "We're up in Modesto—"

"So we're looking for him too," Sam cuts in, moving in front of Dean and Katherine to wedge himself before Amy. "And we're kind of asking around." Katherine's eyes settle on an approaching girl, wearing an expression of concern. "Would you mind if we asked a couple of questions?"

"Are you all right?" The approaching girl asks.

"Yeah," Amy says to her. Then she looks to the three hunters and nods. "This is my friend Amber. We can go in here," he says, gesturing to the door beside them. Dean leads Katherine to the door after Amy and her friend, dropping his arm from her shoulders. She tauntingly rolls her shoulders at the lack of weight, smiling over her shoulder a little. and he rolls his eyes.

The group orders coffee for themselves.

"When is the last you heard from Troy?" Sam asks.

"He was driving," Amy answers, tearing open a small container of creamer. "He said he'd call right back, but...he never did." She stirs the beverage briefly before wrapping both hands around the mug.

"Did he say anything strange or out of the ordinary?"

"No," the redhead says, shaking her head. "Nothing that I can remember."

"Here's the deal, ladies," Dean says. "The way Troy disappeared—something ain't right. So if you've heard anything..."

The two girls opposite the hunters glance to each other. "What?" Katherine asks.

"Well, it's just..." Amber shrugs. "With all these guys going missing, people talk."

"What do they talk about?" The three hunters chorus. Katherine's lip purse, almost cracking a grin, but she stays focused on the friend.

Amber looks to her hands, lips parted, as if she's trying to find the words. "It's kind of...like a local legend," she describes, eyes lifting to the men. "This one girl, she got murdered out on Centennial, like, decades ago. Well supposedly, she's still out there. She hitchhikes, and whoever picks her up...well, they disappear forever." 

"So you think that's what could have happened to Troy?" Sam asks. The two girls shrug. 

"Thanks for your help," Dean says, moving to stand, and Katherine follows after him. "We'll be in touch if we find something."

"Girl murdered on the highway," Katherine hums, jamming her hands into her pockets as she walks up the street with the Winchesters. "Anyone know where a directory is?"

"The highway is that-a-way," Dean says, pointing east.

"No, I need to find a library." 

"I think I saw one just around the block," Sam volunteers. Katherine beams and slides into the backseat of the Impala, waiting for Dean to turn the key in the ignition.

The hunters settle at the only computer available in the back, and Dean being the child he is races the other two to the computer without them knowing it.