Sam wasn't sure what to think of this situation. One minute he'd been with Ruby, rehashing the grisly details of his fight with Dean, and the next he was here, stuck inside his least favorite Tim Burton movie. What was he supposed to make of that? It was the kind of stunt that had the Trickster written all over it, but even that explanation didn't quite add up. Why would he populate the town with characters from TV shows Sam had never seen? Why wouldn't he send Dean there too? And why would he make himself so easy to find? It had taken Sam about a hundred Tuesdays to figure out the Trickster was behind his Groundhog Day experience, and then six months to draw him out of hiding and beg for Dean's life back. Openly announcing his presence on the town's magical journal network -- that wasn't exactly the Trickster's MO.
He'd spent his first day there searching the town, trying to find some sort of clue that would make all the puzzle pieces fall into place, but he came up empty-handed. Well, no, that wasn't entirely true; he'd found plenty of weird crap just about everywhere he looked. It was freaking Halloween Town, after all. But none of it helped him figure out who was behind this.
Suddenly he really wished Bobby and Dean were there. Even if Dean never wanted to see him again. Even if Sam would've been ashamed to see Bobby after the way he'd left the salvage yard. He was utterly alone here, despite being surrounded by people, and he had no idea how to get back home on his own. "Home." Funny how he used that word when he didn't actually have one. When the closest things he had to a home -- Bobby's house and Dean's car -- were off-limits to him now. What did 'home' even mean anymore?
Then Ruby turned up, and he knew the answer to that question. She was the only home he had left. Which was all kinds of messed up, but he couldn't think about that. Out of everyone in his life, she was the one who'd never abandoned him, never lost faith in him. Demon or not, that meant something. He had to believe he could trust her, because she'd earned it by this point, but also because what other choice did he have? He couldn't defeat Lilith without her. That didn't make him naive, or a monster. It just made him willing to do whatever it took to finish the job.
He'd gone on an iron and salt scavenger hunt because the mansion was filled to the brim with spirits. So far they only seemed interested in annoying people, but he didn't want to take any chances. Until he could find and burn all their bodies -- assuming that even worked here -- he needed to make sure everybody who wanted some sort of protection had it. The thought of using the salt on Ruby hadn't even occurred to him; as far as he was concerned, she was the safest person here.
At the sound of her voice, he turned around, a tiny smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Maybe his life was a total wreck these days, but he couldn't help feeling reassured by her presence. She had saved his life before, so if he had to get stuck in his own personal Halloween-themed nightmare with someone, Ruby was as good a choice as any. Better, maybe, because unlike Dean and Bobby, she had no reason to hate him. Her motivations were a hundred percent in line with Sam's. "Hey. Uh, just one of those old fashioned salt cellars so far," he answered, gesturing toward an unwieldy glass canister on the counter. "I've got a decent stash of iron up in my room, though." After four long years back in the hunting grind, two of which he'd been plagued by psychic nightmares, Sam barely needed a place to sleep anymore. But if he wanted to keep up his strength (and avoid those godawful withdrawal symptoms), he and Ruby would need their privacy. As much privacy as they could get in a haunted house, anyway.