Stubborn Survival
Prologue-1997
John Winchester scrubbed a hand over his dark hair, carrying it across his stubbled face. He rubbed his eyes and gave himself a shake. Staring through the windshield into the dark was almost enough to make him fall asleep. He had had been awake, well he didn't know how long, but it had been days. He glanced at the driver, another hunter named Bobby Singer. John didn't know if he could call Bobby a friend because they argued constantly but John trusted him. He knew Bobby would be there if he needed him and John could trust him with his sons.
When John's youngest, fourteen year old Sam went missing, the first call John made was to Bobby. His older boy, Dean, was in Minnesota with Pastor Jim Murphy pouring over books about demons. Dean preferred to learn in the field but demons weren't something a person could figure out in the middle of an attack. John sent Dean to Jim for three weeks of learning about exorcisms and other useful tricks like using holy water and salt.
Sam should have gone too but he begged and pleaded to stay in the high school John had enrolled him in. Apparently they were doing some special testing that would ultimately help Sam get into college. John wasn't worried about Sam going to college because hunters weren't normally geared for higher learning. But, it was important to his youngest and John was busy hunting a local ghost so he agreed. Sam was old enough to stay alone and John figured putting the ghost down was a two, maybe three day job.
John never liked separating the family but sometimes it was necessary. Since Sam would be with John and Dean would be safe with Jim, it wasn't really a risk, just an inconvenience. Also, the boys had been fighting non-stop for months so a break for them was a break for him.
It all made perfect sense until Sam didn't come home from school. John didn't even know the boy was missing until the next morning when John rolled in after an all-nighter searching for the grave of Charles Glass.
Glass had been a pedophile in life, preferring to kidnap and molest young boys. After a few days of tormenting the children, he'd release them on a deserted highway. According to police records, he was active for about three years before was killed in a car accident. He had just dropped off a ten year old, pulled out on to a blind curve and was wiped out by an oncoming tractor trailer. The child was returned to his mother and Glass' body was released to family members.
John caught the hunt while doing some scans of local newspapers in northern Pennsylvania. He read about a boy from New Hope who claimed he had been kidnapped and kept in a house for a few days and then released. According to the newspaper the boy said he was held captive by a ghost. The kid was unwilling to give any details about what happened to him while he was there. The article suggested he was lying to hide something from his parents but, John kept checking and soon discovered there were several similar stories in the area.
Through research and legwork and some help from Sam, John was able to connect the whole thing back to Charles Glass. Apparently death had not stopped Glass from harming children. With two sons of his own, John took a particular interest in finding Glass' grave so he could burn the bastard out of existence.
Unfortunately, finding his remains became a challenge. It turned out that Glass was not his real name and his family had somehow managed to make his body disappear.
Sam was the first to question how the ghost could actually take children off the street. John figured he must have a human accomplice which was rare but not unheard of. Spirits often attached themselves to people or objects. In life, the police thought Glass might have had a partner but they had never been able to find one. It was creepily possible that the partner was still alive and assisting Glass in his vile hobby.
The night that Sam disappeared, John had finally found Glass' lair. Inside a small room built into the basement of an old house that Glass had used in life, John found Brian Kelso tied to a mattress. He had been naked, blindfolded and clearly abused. John rescued him without any interference from the perverted spirit.
He dropped the twelve year old off at a hospital and told the nurse to call the police. He had hated leaving the kid like that but knew that if he was going to find information about Glass, he needed to get back to the house without the police.
He spent the rest of the night searching the two story country mansion and then the grounds surrounding it. The spirit of Charles Glass attacked him repeatedly and John managed to repel him with iron shots. But, ultimately he failed to find Glass' remains so he failed to destroy him. The next step was going to be finding Glass' real name then his family because someone had to know where the body was located.
That morning John put his key in the motel door, exhausted, hungry and discouraged. He pushed it open and glanced at the bed where Sam should have been sleeping. Both beds were made and there were no dirty clothes on the floor. He looked towards the kitchen to find the remnants of the pizza he shared with Sam two nights before, along with the used paper plates, napkins, soda cans and beer bottles. Nothing had been cleaned up and nothing new had been used. Heart starting to pound he went in the bathroom to find clean towels, nothing wet, nothing on the floor.
The next few hours like the next few days moved in a blur. John called the school and was told his son had not come to class. He called Bobby Singer and Dean and Caleb but no one had heard from Sam. Dean said he was on his way and Bobby said the same thing. John told Dean to stay put and then had to tell Jim to keep Dean there. John was missing one son; he wasn't going to risk the other.
It took little time for John to land on the obvious. Somehow the spirit of Charles Glass had taken his youngest. A pedophile had taken Sam. John returned to the house where Brian Kelso had been held but found nothing new. He backtracked to where Kelso had been taken and even further to the boy before him. He had to find something, anything. He didn't believe in dead ends, there was always another play to make even when everything looked hopeless. He depended on that.
Bobby arrived late the first night and the two of them went back to the house again. Bobby didn't see anything that John might have missed. They kept looking, kept pushing. Days went by.
John tried to contact Glass through spells and séances while Bobby tried to ferret out Glass' family. If they could make a deal, trade Sam for a promise not to burn his bones, maybe Glass would give up Sam's location.
When Bobby finally figured out that Charles Glass was Charles Gleason and was buried in a family plot in upstate New York, they drove to the cemetery where John repeated the spells he had tried before. This time Charlie answered. With the grave dug up and the bones ready to be burned, the spirit was ready to deal. He said that Sam was in the attic of a lake cottage and gave John the address. John left Bobby to watch the grave.
The drive to the cottage was interminable and because it was dark and there were hundreds of houses on small, barely marked roads with addresses that didn't seem to follow any pattern, it took even longer. But, John finally found it. It was a three level lakeside summer home that dwarfed the two houses on either side of it.
John didn't bother to knock. He burst through the front door, running straight up the wooden staircase to the second floor. Halfway down the hall he found the trap door leading into the attic. If he doubted it before, he no longer questioned the likelihood of an accomplice. There was no way that a spirit, even a demented one like Charles Glass, could transport a child across miles of highway and secrete him in a locked cottage.
John pulled the door down releasing nested steps and climbed up. As soon as his head cleared the landing, he could hear Sam's voice.
"Not again, you bastard!" the boy yelled but his voice was strained.
John crossed the creaking wood floor to where his son lay on a thin mattress. His hands were tied to a stake driven into the wall above his head. His eyes were covered by bandages and then a crude blindfold made of rough linen. He was naked.
John knelt beside him, eyes blurry with tears.
"It's me, son. Dad. You're safe now."
John uncovered Sam's eyes first then cut the rope binding his wrists. Sam darted into his arms, sobbing like he hadn't done since he was a toddler. John held him and rocked him until he gained some control. Once Sam had calmed, John glanced around for clothes, finding his son's jeans and t-shirt piled up in a corner.
John retrieved them and told Sam to get dressed. Sam said nothing as he drew on his clothes.
"Are you hurt?" John asked.
Sam shook his head.
"Sammy, did he hurt you?"
"I'm okay, Dad," was the only answer he received.
"How'd they get you?" John asked.
Sam stared at him for a moment then shrugged. John let the question go.
"Let's get out of here. Your Uncle Bobby's waiting for us."
John led the way down the attic steps. He pushed the door back in place once Sam was safely with him.
John stopped for a moment to look at his son again. He had been terrified that he might never find him. Sam was a few inches shorter than John though that wasn't likely to remain true much longer. He was on the thin side but he was physically strong. He wore his hair too long which was probably a rebellion against John's Marine background. But, other than a bruise on his forehead and red rings around his wrists, he looked okay.
John sighed at his rambling thoughts reminding himself to stay focused. With the relief of finding his son exhaustion followed so it was no surprise that his thoughts were wandering. Even so, if Glass' partner decided to make an appearance or even Glass himself, John needed to be prepared. He took Sam's hand and could feel him trembling.
"Is there anyone else here?" John asked.
"I don't think so."
"Bobby is with the spirit at the cemetery."
"Spirit? Is that what it was?"
John glanced back at his son, surprised that Sam didn't know what had held him prisoner. The boy looked back at him, wide eyed and pale, but keeping up as they fled the house. They made it out of the house and into the car without trouble. John made sure Sam was settled into the passenger seat before he drove out on to the main road.
As he arrived at the cemetery he found things just the way he left them. Bobby was standing by the open grave with the decomposing body of Charles Gleason. Bobby had an iron rifle in one hand and matches in the other.
"Did you get him?" Bobby asked when he saw John then smiled when Sam stepped from behind his father. "Good to see you, son."
"Thanks," Sam said.
Sam looked around the cemetery with darting, fearful eyes.
"Do it," John said.
Bobby struck the match. Just as he dropped it, Charlie appeared with a roar. His spirit charged at John but before he could make impact his body started burning from the bottom up and he disintegrated with a scream.
John had shoved Sam behind him the minute the ghost appeared and now he turned and hugged him.
Sam allowed the comfort for a moment but then he pulled away just as he'd been doing for the last couple of years. John knew he was losing Sam but he didn't know how to stop it. He looked into his son's eyes.
"I'm sorry, Sam."
"Not your fault," the boy replied. "I got caught."
John frowned a little at that. He'd need to make sure that Sam knew he wasn't to blame for getting kidnapped. He'd also have to work more on defensive maneuvers so that it didn't happen again.
"Where's Dean?" Sam asked.
"Still at Pastor Jim's," John answered. "He wanted to come back but I wouldn't let him."
Sam nodded at that before he turned to start walking towards the car. John watched his unsteady trek across the grass but figured the kid was understandably tired.
Bobby caught up with John, carrying the shovels and watching after Sam. John took half the load, grateful that Bobby had been ready to finish the job. Both men knew that no matter what promise they made to the spirit, there was no way they would let him continue to exist.
"Is the kid all right?" Bobby asked.
"I don't know. He's bruised up but nothing's broken. He's not saying much."
"Give him time, John. Did he say anything about Glass' partner?"
"Not yet. We can talk to him back at the motel. See if we can figure out who it is."
The drive was generally quiet. Bobby drove because John was exhausted. Sam sat silently in the back seat. When they pulled into the parking lot, Dean and Jim came out of the room. Jim apologized saying he couldn't keep Dean away.
Sam climbed out of the back of the Impala. Dean hugged him first then pushed him away to look at him. John didn't really listen to Dean's words. He noticed how Sam seemed to relax though, now that his brother was there. The boys went inside leaving the men to talk about the close call and what to do next.