Dedicated to Shane. Written for a mibba contest.

"Ash!"

Ellen's screams were easily heard, even over the roar of the raging fire that had once been the roadhouse. It had only taken a few short minutes for it to completely catch fire, but those few minutes had seemed like a lifetime.

Jo was holding her mother aganst her as she struggled, a feat made even harder by the fact she too was crying. They had been lucky, as they had been outside when the fire had started, and had easily escaped it.

Ash had been one of the unlucky ones, caught in the fire as he served the hunters that were regulars at the roadhouse. Many of them had been caught in the fire too, but right now Ellen was too focused on the man that she had cared and argued with for years to give a damn about the others.

"Do you smell smoke?"

Ash turned in his far from graceful way, and with an almost un-Ash-like frown answered the regular.

"Yeah, I'll-"

"Fire!"

At the shout of warning, everyone in the bar tried to get out. The hunters among them were calm enough, but the patrons among them who were not hunters and did not deal with life-threathening situations everyday were panicking.

Ash himself was moving towards the back door, and several of the Roadhouse's regulars followed him. When he went to wrench it open however, it would not budge, and he saw several men standing outside the window as if what was happening inside was entertainment. Demons, great.

Breathing deeply, Ash chewed on the tooth pick he always kept in his mouth. He glanced behind him, and saw that the other door was not opening for the others either, and that smoke had began to make its way across the room. He could see that some of people on the other side of the bar were beginning to look drowsy.

"Maybe we should try ramming it?"

Ash nodded, and stepped back as several of the more muscular men tried to force the door open. It did not work, and he closed his eyes as he realised they were not getting out of the pub. The sons of bitches had obviously planned it, and had made sure that no one could get out or in. He did not see Jo or Ellen anywhere, and he hoped that they had still been outside when the fire had started.

"Ash!"

Ellen's screams were easily heard, even over the roar of the raging fire that had once been the roadhouse. It had only taken a few short minutes for it to completely catch fire, but those few minutes had seemed like a lifetime. She was safe, at least.

Ash felt weak now, and with each breath he inhaled, his eyes closed even more. The other hunters, and other patrons of the pub were in similiar states around him, and he dropped to the floor and leant against the wall behind him as he accepted that the demons had defeated them.