1.04 Ghost on the Highway

Title (English)	Ghost on the Highway
Title (Japanese)	ハイウェイの亡霊 (Highway no Bourei)
Directed by	Shigeyuki Miya
Written by	Tatsuro Inamoto
Based On	Original story
Voice Actors (Japanese)	Yuuya Uchida Hiroki Touchi Masaki Aizawa Norihiro Inoue Yoshihisa Kawahara Nobuaki Kanemitsu Miho Miyagawa Motoi Koyanagi
Voice Actors (English)	Jared Padalecki Andrew Farrar Terrence Scammell Daniel Brochu Richard M. Dumont Mark Camacho Lucinda Davis Richard M. Dumont
Outline	Dean and Sam are suspects in a number of hit and run accidents, but the real killer needs to be put to rest before it kills again.
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Synopsis

Dean and Sam are in California, and while Dean drives the Impala, Sam checks online for possible cases or news about their father's whereabouts. Sam munches on a flaky breakfast burrito, making a mess in the car, and Dean eventually grabs it and throws it out the window. This sparks an argument, but they are interrupted by police sirens. They think they're being pulled over for littering, but soon find themselves under arrest and at the police station.

At the police station, Police Chief Rod questions Dean about the deaths of 36 residents of his town. They've all been killed in the last 12 months by the driver of a black Chevy Impala, and he's convinced that Dean has something to do with it. When Dean tells him that this is the first time he's been to his town, the police chief has him thrown into a cell with Sam. They're left alone until evening, when a young man who introduces himself as Deputy Chief Michael approaches and stealthily sets them free. He tells them that he's the younger brother of the police chief, and that he's sorry for his brother's behavior. He then takes them out to their car and flirts with both Dean and Sam for a few minutes before sending them on their way. Just before they leave, Sam asks him why he helped them escape, and his words, "Well, we can't just keep innocent people in jail can we? Besides, the killer may not even be human anymore," give them pause. Still, they leave town.

After freeing Dean and Sam, Michael goes home to find his brother Rod waiting for him, angry that Michael set Sam and Dean free. Michael tells Rod that they both know that Dean and Sam had nothing to do with it. Rod seems ashamed, but then asks Michael if he told Dean and Sam anything about what's really been going on. Michael says that there's no way he could have, and leaves. Meanwhile, Sam asks Dean if he's still thinking about what Michael said: that the killer might not be human. Dean admits that he is, but they can't go back when Michael risked so much to set them free. Sam reminds Dean that more innocent people will die unless they do something, and Dean turns the car around.

They head back into town in disguise: much to Dean's disgust, the Impala has been painted white with water-based paint. They then meet Michael in a diner and confront him about what's been going on in his town. Sam says that they know there's more than what he told them, and they want to help him. Michael resists at first, and then Dean tells him that they specialize in dealing with "things that aren't human anymore." Just then, Rod and two other police officers show up at the diner. Rod is suspicious of the white Impala in the parking lot and, as he looks it over, Sam, Dean, and Michael escape out the back door.

As Michael drives them away in a patrol car, he asks Dean to explain what he said earlier, and Dean tells him that they're hunters who specialize in everything other than humans or animals. Michael doesn't believe him at first, but Dean insists that they have to stop whatever it is that's killing the people in his town. Finally, Michael agrees to tell them everything. Two summers ago, a call came into the station that a bank robber was on the run and was making his way towards their town. The fugitive was driving a black Chevy Impala, so, under Rod's command, the police set up road blocks along the highway and waited. Eventually, a man in a black Chevy Impala approached. He didn't stop at the road block, so they pursued him, and they chased him until he lost control of his car, crashed through a guard rail, and died. Shortly after the fatal accident, they learned that the real bank robber had been captured in another town. To hide their mistake, Rod and the other policemen buried the case, and the entire town went along with the cover up. Since then, the residents of their town have been targeted by the driver of a black Chevy Impala.

Sam tells Michael that they need to go to the scene of the Impala's accident so they can salt and burn the remains of the driver and his car. Before they get there, however, they're stopped by Rod. Michael begs him to let them go so that Dean and Sam stop the ghost, but Rod hits him with his shotgun. Rod is holding Sam and Dean at gunpoint when Michael grabs his gun and knocks Rod down.

Suddenly, the spectral black Impala appears, and Michael jumps in one of the patrol cars and drives off, drawing the Impala away. Dean and Sam ask Rod to take them to the scene of the ghost's accident, but Rod refuses and tells them that he's not as gullible as Michael. He's holding them at gunpoint again when they hear a crash and see smoke in the distance: Michael's car has crashed. They go to the scene and find his car burning, and Michael dead. Rod arrests Sam and Dean and locks them in a cell again, but they plead with him to help them stop the ghost in the Impala. Eventually, they convince him, and he sets them free.

Once free, they drive the Impala (black again because of the rain) to the site of the first car crash. There's still a hole in the guard rail, and they all climb down the cliff and set the car and the driver's remains on fire. They've just climbed back up to the highway when the spectral Impala appears. They jump in their Impala but are quickly hit, throwing them into a spin and causing the Impala to spring a gas leak right next to the hole in the guard rail. The spectral Impala disappears for a few moments, and Dean, after catching a glimpse of the tread marks that the other Impala made going off the cliff, has Sam salt along the lines of rubber. Before they can do anything else, though, the spectral Impala appears again, and Dean quickly drives away, leaving a trail of gasoline behind them. The other Impala is right on their tail and, just as they're approaching a sharp turn, the spirit of Michael in his patrol car appears and hits the spectral Impala, sending it off the cliff in a bright flash of light.

After the crash, they stop and see Michael's spirit on the side of the road. Dean and Sam watch silently as Rod approaches Michael and apologizes for not being the best brother, but Michael doesn't say anything—just wipes the tears from Rod's face and disappears. Dean then sets fire to the gasoline trail they left, and the fire runs all the way back to the site of the first crash, burning the salt that Sam laid on the Impala's tread marks and putting the driver of the Impala's spirit to rest. The next morning, Rod thanks Dean and Sam, and they drive away in the Impala.

Characters

• Dean Winchester
• Sam Winchester
• Impala

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• 

  Michael McGregor
  Voice Actor (Japanese): Norihiro Inoue
  Voice Actor (English): Daniel Brochu

• 

  Rod McGregor
  Voice Actor (Japanese): Masaki Aizawa
  Voice Actor (English): Terrence Scammell

• 

  Ghost in the Impala
  

Music

• "Carry On Wayward Son" by Mark Ishikawa

(plays during the end credits)

Definitions

• Ghost
• Vengeful Spirits
• Salt

Quotes

Sam: Dean, give it a rest, will ya? We'll pick up the car when we finish the job.

Dean: Okay, fine. Just can't stand the thought of what those barbarians are doing to my car. If I find even one scratch -
Sam: Dean, get over it. It's a car.
Dean: It's more than that. It's the closest thing I have to a girlfriend.
Sam: You know, I think I'm beginning to see the reason why you can't seem to hold down a relationship.
Dean: Oh, yeah? Well why don't you explain it to me, little brother?
Sam: You're a geek for your car!

Dean: I'm not a geek!