Before It's Too Late: Chapter 1

Alex looked at her reflection in the mirror, staring deep into her eyes. Only she knew what was going behind them. The thought made her sigh as she filled a plastic cup with water in her bathroom sink. Once the cup was filled, she raised it to her lips and gulped it down. A shudder ran down her spine and she held a hand up to her head.

“Get a grip, Alex,” she told herself as she turned the faucet on. “Focus.” She then splashed some water on her face, wiped it clean with a towel and looked at her reflection again. “Just tell him already,” she whispered, but shook her head, knowing that she wouldn’t.

Alex opened the bathroom door and turned the light off. She passed Hana’s room, where her daughter was sound asleep in her crib. Walking into the living room, Alex saw Kyle sitting on the couch with piles of books and papers all over the coffee table. She paused for a minute in the dining room, taking a deep breath.

Finally she got her bearings together and continued to the living room.

“Hey.” Kyle smiled at Alex as she walked up to his side.

“Hey. What, uh, are you looking up?” she asked as she studied the pile of books on the table.

Kyle looked at the mess and then back up to his wife. “Research. For Dean. He thinks there might be a case in Indiana. He would do it himself, but he’s actually working on another case in Minnesota right now. Guess he wants a heads start. I offered to take care of it myself, but he refused.”

“Oh,” Alex’s expression fell as Kyle looked down at the books again.

When he looked up he noticed the forced smile on her face. “What is it?”

Alex shook her head. “Nothing.”

Kyle knew she was lying. “I know you don’t like me hunting, but if I don’t help out in some way then more people are going to die. I have to save them, I can’t just ignore it, Alex.”

This time she nodded her head. “I know. Believe me I know. I just wish…” Alex stared at Kyle as he waited for her to finish. She knew he loved her and she did not want fight with him. “I just wish it was easier.”

Kyle was confused by what she meant, but before he could ask about it, she cleared her throat.

“There’s a load of laundry in the washing machine. Can you put it in the dryer in about an hour?”

“There’s another load?” Kyle was surprised considering they just did a load that morning.

“Yeah. That’s what happens when you have a kid,” Alex explained with a shrug. “They’re messy.”

Kyle studied her face for a minute. “Right.”

“I always am,” Alex smiled. “I have to get going. I don’t want to be late for work. I might work later tonight, so don’t wait up for me.” She bent down and gave him a kiss before heading towards the back door. As she was about to leave the house she gave him a small smile that faded as soon as she closed the door.

It was mid November and the sky was dark and cold. Alex walked through the woods wearing her black winter coat, crunching leaves and twigs under her shoes on her way to work. The sun shined through the trees casting shadows across the woods. The leaves shined and sparkled where the sun reflected off of the drops of water from the morning rain.

Upon reaching the bar, Alex took in a deep breath of the cool fall air, sending chills down her spine as it touched her lungs. She walked into the building and started her shift.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


Later that night Kyle finished folding the last item in the laundry basket; Alex’s grey shirt. Before setting the shirt down, he looked at it again. When Alex had left for work she was wearing a black shirt and her jeans, but he thought she had worn the grey one that morning.

She did mention Hana giving her a hard time at lunch, he thought to himself. Kyle looked at the pile of clothes on the table and saw an outfit of Hana’s. Kyle chuckled, shaking his head for being paranoid about something so common.

Kyle placed the shirt on the small stack of clothes and carried them into their bedroom. On his way back into the living room he checked on his sleeping daughter. He walked over to her crib and leaned on the rail, looking down at her with a smile on his face. Slowly, he reached his hand into the crib and pulled her blanket up to her shoulders for extra warmth. Seeing Hana at peace in her dreams put Kyle at ease and made him forget about all the evil things he read during his research.

“As long as I’m around, you have nothing to worry about,” he whispered. It wasn’t just a statement, it was a promise. If anything happened to her or Alex, he would never forgive himself. He knew he would have failed them both.

Kyle looked at his watch. Alex would be coming home within the next hour or so. Wanting to cheer her up he decided to make her something to eat. He went to the kitchen and found a recipe for a simple meal and waited half an hour before he started cooking the noodles. He wanted to make sure that they were fresh and warm when she got home.

Time passed by and the noodles were cooked and the sauce was heated up. He left them sitting on the stove with their lids on them to keep them warm. As he sat down on the couch and waited, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier. He didn’t want to fall asleep, knowing Alex would leave him be on the couch once she got home, so he swore he wouldn’t fall asleep…Too bad his body didn’t listen to him.

Kyle woke up to the sounds of someone crying. Immediately his eyes snapped open and he frantically looked around the room. His eyes fell upon the baby monitor and he sighed. Checking his watch, he noticed that it was well after eight in the morning. Listening to the monitor he waited for Alex’s footsteps, but there was nothing.

“Probably still sleeping,” Kyle reasoned as he stood up, stretching his stiff back. He rubbed the back of his neck as he walked into Hana’s room. “Somebody hungry?” He smiled as he reached down into the crib and picked her up. Hana was still crying, so he held her up against his shoulder and rubbed her back. “It’s ok. We’ll get you some breakfast.”

Kyle walked into the kitchen and placed Hana in her baby chair next to the kitchen table. Once he entered the kitchen, he froze. The pans were still sitting on the stove. It’s not like Alex to leave these sitting out, Kyle thought as he looked around the house. Out of curiosity he walked down the hallway and up to their bedroom door, pushing it open.

His heart jumped into his throat as he stared at the empty bed that was still made. Calm down, she’s probably in the bathroom. Kyle looked in the bathroom, which was also empty. Ok, maybe the basement. Kyle ran to the basement door and flicked the light switch as he rushed down the stairs. Staring at the empty basement, Kyle’s chest filled with panic, but he wasn’t about to give up.

Searching everywhere for her purse, shoes and winter jacket, Kyle found none of them.

Kyle walked back into the dining room where Hana was crying again. Coming up with an idea, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone and speed dialed Alex’s cell phone. The phone rang and rang until finally Alex’s voice was heard on the other end. Kyle’s heart sank realizing it was just her voicemail. He closed his phone and sighed as he looked out the door to their backyard. “Where are you, Alex?”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In a small motel in Millerville Minnesota, Dean was stitching up a cut on his right forearm. The spirit that they had just destroyed moments ago had taken a beating on both him and Sam. They were bruised and cut up all over. Sam was thankful that he hadn’t broken any bones when the spirit threw him through the glass door of the building and down the small flight of stairs that lead up to them. Having a few gashes here and there was much less painful and quicker to heal than a broken bone.

“Dean, I think we should let Kyle take care of the Indiana case,” Sam said as he finished wrapping up his forearms where some glass had stuck into his skin. The cut on his lip however was just going to have to heal on its own like it usually did.

“No way. Kyle’s a family man. We can’t risk it. Alex has lost enough people in her life. No need to add to the body count.” Dean cut off the end of the thread and wrapped his arm up nice and tight.

“But he offered to help.” Sam stood up and took off his shirt and changed into a fresh one that wasn’t currently stained with blood. “And he’s experienced, so it’s not like he’s going to get himself killed.”

“Sam. We’re experienced. We’ve gotten ourselves killed,” Dean pointed out as he looked across the room at his brother.

Sam glared at him, but he couldn’t argue with him there. It was true and there was no denying the facts.

As they started cleaning up the mess they made when they stumbled into the room, Dean heard his phone go off. He patted down his jean pockets, but it wasn’t there. “Where did I put…?” Dean looked around the room and finally found his phone in the mess of papers and medical supplies on the small table.

Dean answered his phone, “Hello?”

“Dean,” a voice came from the other end.

“Oh, hey, Kyle. I was just about to call you. Did you find out what was killing—“Dean stopped talking, the smile dropping from his face. “What? Since when?”

Sam looked at his brother, knowing something was wrong by the worry on his face.

“No, I haven’t talked to her since last week… I don’t know, I’ll ask.” Dean turned to Sam. “Have you talked to Alex recently?”

“No, what’s going on?” Sam asked as he crossed the room.

“She never came back from work last night and she’s not answering her phone,” Dean explained to his brother, who was now worried about Alex.

“Dean, I have no idea where she could be,” Kyle replied over the phone. “What if a demon got to her and she’s being tortured right now and there’s nothing I can do to stop it because I have no clue where she is?”

"Alright, Kyle, try to calm down. Sam and I will drive to Watseka. We’ll be there before nightfall and we’ll help you look for her.” Dean snapped his fingers at his brother, silently telling him to start packing their stuff.

“You don’t have to. I’ll just call up—“

“Hey, don’t worry about it. It’s no trouble at all. Really. Besides, she’s family, it would be wrong not to help.”

“Thanks,” Kyle replied already sounding defeated.

“Hey, don't worry, we'll find her," Dean reassured him while packing his clothes and weapons into the appropriate bags.

“Yeah, I don’t know. I just have a bad feeling about this,” Kyle confessed as he walked into Hana’s room. Being in her room gave him some comfort, knowing that he could protect their daughter.

“Well, try not to worry too much. We’re gonna need your help finding her when we get there.”

“I know,” Kyle spoke quietly, wishing they could get there sooner.

“In the mean time you can watch out for Hana and keep her safe. We’ll try to get there as soon as we can.” Shortly after, Dean hung up his phone and shook his head.

“What?” Sam noticed the smile on his brother’s face, which confused him considering the conversation he just had on the phone.

“Leave it to Alex to disappear.” Dean chuckled in disbelief remembering everything that had happened to her since they met. “I swear her luck is as bad as ours.” He doubled checked his shot gun to make sure it was loaded before tucking it into inner coat pocket. “So far every time she’s gone missing, something bad happens.”

“Well, let’s just hope she comes back in one piece.”

“Hey, I’m just hoping we find her alive at this point.” Grabbing his bags, Dean looked at his brother. “Ready?”

“Yeah,” Sam said, pulling the strap of his laptop bag over his shoulder. They cleared the room and loaded up the Impala.