| Previously on Supernatural: Dean sold his soul to a demon to save his brother, but upon learning that humans in Hell turn into demons, Dean began searching for a way to get out of the deal.
In Milan, Ohio, a man, Ben Waters, is at his house at night and drinking heavily. The phone rings and he answers it. The woman, Linda, asks him if he's thought about it but he refuses to discuss it because of his wife. Linda asks him to come to him and he refuses then hangs up. The phone rings again and he answers it, and she warns him she's not going to stop. He apologizes and hangs up again, and this time when it rings he pounds it on the desk and rips the cord out of the wall. The phone rings yet again and keeps ringing, and Ben takes out a gun and shoot himself, saying that she's won.
Dean gets a call from Bobby about Ben shooting himself after electrical problems. Sam is more interested in finding a way to get Dean out of his deal but Dean isn't interested and finally admits that's Ruby told him there was no way out. Sam isn't thrilled that Dean is keeping secrets from him, but Dean notes that Sam has a few secrets of his own and they end up going to Ohio.
 Dean and Sam talk to Mrs. Waters and she finally admits that she overheard him talking to a woman called Linda. However, when she listened on the other line there was nobody there. They do some research and determine that Linda was Ben's high school sweetheart, died in a car accident, and was cremated. Sam found a number on the call ID but it is over a hundred years old. They go to the telephone company and Clark Adams, the head of the company, leads them to Stewie Meyers, a techie who is cruising the Internet for porn and works in a filthy office. Dean convinces him to run the phone number and Stewie determines that ten different houses have received calls from the number, even if he can't tell where it's originating.
Sam goes to check out one of the homes and asks the husband if there have been any strange calls. He's not aware of any but his daughter Lanie reacts, and confronts Sam outside. She denies knowing anything at first but finally admits she's been talking to her dead mother. Dean calls Sam and confirms he's found a lot of other cases. After he hangs up, he gets a new call… from his father, John.
Dean meets with Sam, revealing John hung up after saying his name. Dean wonders if it really is Dad, and what to do if he calls back. Sam doesn't have much advice to offer him if John calls back. Dean discovers that Milan was the birthplace of Thomas Edison and they go to the museum which has his Spirit Phone. They go there and the guide reveals Edison was an occultist who tried to communicate with the dead. Sam scans it for EMP readings but finds nothing. They wonder why it would start calling people now, and Dean wonders if John really did call.
That night, Sam sleeps while Dean waits by the phone. The phone rings and Dean answers: John demands to know how Dean could sell his soul. John says he knows a way out and the demon who holds the contract is in Milan.
At home, Lanie is on her computer when she gets an instant text message from her mother, asking if she's considered what they discussed before. Her mother says she wants to be with her and Lanie types that she's scared. The screen goes dead but she sees her mother in the monitor reflection, only to turn around and find no one there. The computer comes back on and the message "Come With Me" repeats over and over.
The next day, Dean is researching lightning storms and determines that a demon has been following him. It turns out that John gave them an exorcism ritual that will kill the demon. Sam is skeptical but Dean figures John may have picked up a few tricks in Hell. Dean is waiting for John to call back with the demon's location, and is furious that Sam is skeptical. Sam goes to see Lanie but asks Dean to stay there until he gets back.
Sam meets with Lanie who explains what happened and how her mother asked her to do bad things. In the house, her brother Simon is playing when his toy phone rings: it's his mother. Meanwhile, Lanie explains that her mother told her to kill herself with her dad's sleeping pills. When Lanie says her mother said "Come to me," he realizes it's not her mother. Sam tells Lanie to stay in the house and avoid the electrical equipment, when they realize that Simon has disappeared.
Meanwhile, Dean has received another call from John. He drives to an old house and takes out his equipment. Going inside, he prepares a demon's trap and holy water. Meanwhile, Simon is walking across the streets and Sam pulls him out of traffic just before he gets hit by a car. He calls Dean and explains they're up against a crocotta, a scavenger creature that lures victims to their deaths and feeds on their souls. Once Dean realizes what he's up against, he remembers that crocottas live in filth… like Stewie at the phone company.
Sam gets to the phone company and sees Stewie leave his office. Sam calls Dean and then goes after him with a metal spike. Stewie claims innocent and then his boss Clark knocks Sam out… and then knocks out Stewie.
Clark ties them up inside and then stabs Stewie through the heart and sucks out his soul. Sam realizes the last call with Dean was the crocotta, which faked using Edison's number as a diversion. Clark then taps into the phone systems, saying he'll see who he decides to kill.
A police officer gets a call from his daughter, who says the man who killed her is at their house and wants to kill him too.
Clark boasts it was easy to imitate John and as he boasts, Sam starts to work his way free while Clark figures that either Dean will kill the policeman or vice versa.
Dean is in the house and prepares to use holy water when the policeman bursts in and opens fire. Dean manages to duck for cover then get the drop on the man, and they fight over the shotgun. Dean finally knocks the man down and keeps on kicking him.
Clark boasts about how his feeding is so much easier now that people connect primarily via phones and the Internet. Sam manages to break free but the demon throws him around.. Meanwhile, Dean realizes the police officer isn't a demon after the exorcism ritual fails. However, the policeman attacks him again. Sam manages to impale the crocotta on a metal spike on a pegboard while Dean manages to get the gun. When the officer asks what he's doing, Dean admits he has no idea.
Later at the hotel, the brothers recover from their wounds and Sam apologizes for the fact it wasn't John. Dean admits he can't forget about it because he wanted to believe so badly there was a way out of the deal and he's scared. They share a (very brief) moment, then watch TV. |
