The trunk of the 1967 Chevrolet Impala slammed shut. Sam Winchester had stayed in that cursed house long enough. Not that the house was really cursed, but it might as well have been. He had lost his brother to the Hell Hound there, and buried his body in the residents' garden. The poor family had tried to talk him into calling the police, but Sam had refused. He wasn't going to explain his brother's death to them, or that of the young woman that had also been killed, Ruby's host. He had explained her death as a heart attack, for that was all he could think of. About his brother, he had said nothing. He simply couldn't. In fact, he had stayed in the room with him and refused to let the residents of the house in, and wept all night. After that, he had covered his brother's body, and had carried him outside and had buried him, ignoring the family's plea to stop. What was he supposed to tell them? That a vicious black dog from the Underworld had come to collect his brother? They would never believe him.
"What about the girl?" the owner of the house had asked.
"Call the police after I've gone," Sam had replied coolly, "Tell them what I told you, it was a heart attack. Tell them nothing about my brother. It's of no importance to them or to you."
Much to Sam's surprise, the family listened to him, and was now watching him as he manoeuvred around the car. He kept a straight face, in fact, he hadn't shed a tear in their presence. Self-preservation, if anything. He would be no use to Dean if he broke down and became a tormented mess. No, he was going to get Dean back and he needed to be sober.
He looked back at the family, but said nothing and got in the car. It felt awkward, being the driver. Not that he'd never driven the car before, but it was Dean's car, his most priced possession. He rolled the window down and looked out.
"Don't tell the cops I was here." He said, and drove off, slowly.
Part of him wanted to stay there by his brother's grave, but he knew he would never get him back unless he did something.
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Keep fighting, take care of my wheels,"
Sam turned on the radio as he accelerated, down away from the suburban lawns and houses, away from the scared, bewildered family and away from his beloved brother Dean. Bon Jovi's Dead Or Alive screamed through the speakers once more. Sam felt tears burning hot in his throat as he relived that last moment of joy with Dean in the car. Dean's voice, bellowing along to the song and his own, too. He turned off the radio with an angry growl and ran a hand through his messy mop of brown hair. He didn't even know where to start, or where to go. If only he knew where Lilith had sent Ruby. She seemed to know more about him than he did. Maybe he had the power to get Dean back, after all, Lilith's powers hadn't even worked on him anymore. She had fled, and with her disappearance, the others had also left their hosts, freeing the neighbourhood of evil. Bobby had also disappeared. Sam had no idea what had happened to him.
As if something was reading his mind, Sam's cell phone rang from the glove department, making him jump, turn the wheel and nearly crash the car into the railing. Well done, Sam, nearly crashed Dean's car. Oh, he would kill me if he could.
Back on the road, Sam slammed the glove department open and grabbed his phone, keeping one hand firmly on the wheel this time. Bobby's name blinked on the display.
"Bobby. Where are you?" Sam demanded immediately into the phone.
"I'm with Ellen. Something weird happened, there was a bright light and then I woke up in the middle of the street somewhere in the middle of nowhere. I called Ellen, she picked me up. What the hell happened up there, Sam?" Bobby's voiced asked on the other side of the line. "And Dean… Where's Dean?"
Sam swallowed hard. "The Hellhound… it took him…" he said, his voice breaking up.
Bobby was the closest thing to family they had left. With Dean gone…the only one Sam had left. Telling him that Dean, that the Black Dog took him, it was hard on Sam.
For a moment, there was no reply from Bobby, just the sound of his breathing, uneven and torn. "Where are you, Sam?"
"I'm in the car, I've got to get Dean back, Bobby," Sam replied, his voice hoarse with sudden grief. "I need your help. I need to find Ruby. Lilith banished her to somewhere, and I need to find her."
"Sam…I don't know if…" Bobby started.
"Bobby. I'm gonna get Dean back. With…or without you." Sam interrupted.
Bobby sighed. "Meet me at my place in tomorrow. Don't do anything, foolish, Sam. I don't want to lose you, too."
"Tomorrow." Sam agreed, and hung up the phone, leaving it in the vacant seat next to him.
He turned the radio back on, setting his eyes on the road to South Dakota. He would meet with Bobby at his place tomorrow and they would find Ruby, or Lilith, if all else failed. Something told him that Lilith didn't want to be found. Not by him. What had happened in that house? If only he knew. Maybe Ruby could tell him a little more.
Leaving the wondering about himself in the back of his mind, he turned the volume up. Sam took a breath, rolling his shoulder blades. "I'll get you back alive, Dean," he muttered, to Bon Jovi's screams. Dead or Alive.