Tick. Tick. Tick. The clock switched again, changing to 11:56. Four minutes left until midnight. The faint hum of the city outside, horns honking and people talking, could be heard from the street below. A bead of sweat fell down the forehead of the young man, struggling not to move. Duct tape was wrapped around his wrists, ankles, and chest, connecting the wires that could set it off at any movement. It doesn't matter anymore, he thought. At midnight, it's over.
It was 7:00 AM. Seventeen hours before.
"Hey!" Dean said, flipping the pancakes. "Pancake?"
"Chocolate chips?" Jack asked. Dean smiled.
"I didn't forget." He said. He grabbed the chocolate from the cabinet.
"Maybe Jack can have something healthy too?" Castiel said.
"Jack, you want fruit?"
"Fine." Jack said. He rolled his eyes. At least it made Cas feel better, even though Jack was sure that his body naturally took care of the fact that he only ate candy when Cas and Sam weren't looking. Either that, or Jack was going to get very sick soon. Sam walked into the kitchen, his hair messy and an exhausted expression on his face.
"Pancakes?" Sam asked.
"Yeah. Is mom up?" Dean asked. "I got ALL the bacon."
"She's still asleep. Can't blame her."
"Yeah. Sleep is awesome." Dean said. Sam smiled a little, but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. Everyone knew about Sam's nightmares, especially since they lived with him and his screaming sometimes echoed through the Bunker, late at night. Someone would rush to wake him up, usually Cas. A lot of the time it was Dean. Sometimes Mary. Jack never did. He was worried he'd scare Sam. Jack had an idea of what Sam's nightmares were about, and he didn't want to make it worse.
"Get your plates." Dean said, serving up the pancakes. It was one of those rare moments in their hectic lives where everything was okay. Everyone was together. The food was good. They were safe. It was also one of those times in their lives that wouldn't last long.
10:00 AM.
"We've run out of bread. Can somebody run to the store?" Dean asked.
"Research." Sam muttered, writing things down in a notebook. Castiel was nowhere to be found. Mary was still asleep.
"Please?" Dean asked. "I've gotta stay here to make sure our lunch doesn't explode."
"I can go." Jack smiled.
"Really?" Dean asked. "You shouldn't go alone."
"I've got it. Back in a flash." Jack said. There was a breeze and the sound of wings, and Jack vanished. Dean frowned. Jack reappeared.
"Back that fast?"
"I forgot money." Jack laughed. Dean smiled, tossing him the card. "Be right back."
Jack disappeared again, and Dean went back to waiting by the oven.
12:00 PM.
"Have you seen this boy?" Castiel asked, setting a picture of Jack on the desk. The store clerk frowned and nodded.
"He came in around ten. Very polite." The clerk said. "Is he okay?"
"I don't know." Cas said. "When did he leave?"
"He bought bread and left. It must've been 10:05 or something. He went out the front door, probably to his car."
"Do you have footage of the parking lot?"
"Um… yeah." The clerk said. She went to the computer, scrolling back to ten. Castiel squinted over her shoulder. Jack walked out of the store, holding the bread. He looked around, about to fly back to the Bunker when someone came up behind him.
"Oh god." The clerk whispered. The person, unidentifiable, dragged Jack, now unconscious, into their black van. "I gotta call the police. I don't… I…"
"License plate." Castiel said. She zoomed the camera in on it. He memorized it quickly, then headed to the door.
"Where are you going?" She asked. Castiel paused in the doorway.
"I'm going to kill whoever did this." He said. She stared at him, her eyes wide, horrified. He looked back, his eyes burning with anger. "And I'm going to find him."
