I know it's been forever since I posted chaper 1. While the ideas have been flowing for the other two stories I've been working on, it has been the opposite for this one. I just could not figure out how to proceed. I finally got a wee bit of inspiration and so now, I finally have a chapter two! I really hope it's worth the wait. So, I'll just let you all get to it then.
Cindy
"Yeah, Dad…okay. Be careful," Daniel said before flipping his phone shut. He sat down on the edge of his bed and looked at all of the papers scattered across Dean's. The bathroom door opened and Dean emerged in a cloud of steam, hair wet and dripping onto his grey tee shirt.
"Did I hear you talking to somebody?" Dean asked as he pulled on his jeans then sat at the small table to put on his boots.
"Uh, yeah…Dad's not coming," Daniel answered absently as he flipped through pages of newspaper clippings.
Dean looked up and glanced at Daniel with confusion. "He's not coming? Why isn't he coming?" he asked.
Daniel shrugged as he glanced over at his brother. "Something came up Colorado. He's meeting a few other hunters there and won't be able to get here for at least a week," he answered.
"So…what do we do? Just leave town? Leave these folks to whatever's taking 'em?" Dean asked, huffing a bit when he received no response from his older brother. "Danny!" he shouted impatiently.
Daniel raised his eyes to meet his brother's. "What?" he asked.
"I asked you what we're supposed to do now? Pay attention!" Dean replied with annoyance.
"Oh…sorry, just lost in my thoughts I guess," Daniel said before setting the papers in his hands down. "Uh…Dad said to continue with the hunt and that he'd be here as soon as he can," he continued.
"Are you serious? Dad wants us to do the hunt without him? Like, the hunt hunt…not just research?" Dean asked suspiciously.
"Yeah…the real hunt. I told him what we'd found…that the animal mutilations were just local teenagers using the disappearances and subsequent findings of cut up bodies to scare the townspeople into thinking it was aliens. That we've narrowed down the search area to an abandoned complex of old army facilities and that we believe we're dealing with a spirit of some sort. He thinks we can handle it on our own," Daniel replied.
"Huh. So…our first solo hunt. Cool," Dean said as he once again worked on putting on his boots.
"I don't know, Dean. I think maybe we should wait for Dad and…"
"Whoa, whoa…what are talking about, Danny? Why wait for Dad? We've been waiting for this for a long time!" Dean cried. "Our first hunt without Dad….come on, Danny!"
"I know, but…well, we've both been a little distracted and I don't know if it's a good idea for us to jump into this one by ourselves. We could have missed something important and that could get us hurt…or killed," Daniel explained.
"Distracted? Maybe you've been distracted. I haven't been distracted. Distracted by what?"
"Sammy. Dean, we both know our heads haven't been completely in the hunt. We've both been worried about and missing Sam. You said it last night, that you want to get this hunt over with fast so we can go see the squirt. That's not the best mindset to have on a hunt…and I'm just as guilty. When I should be thinking about the particulars of the evidence we've pulled together, I find myself thinking about Sam instead. I just don't know if we should move forward without backup," Daniel said.
Dean leaned back in his chair and brushed his hand over his face. "Yeah, okay…we have been a little distracted, but what are we supposed to do? Did you tell Dad that maybe we should wait?" he asked.
"No…I didn't want him to…well, you know Dad," Daniel answered.
"Yeah, I know. Okay, so…what if we call Caleb? We can see if he's anywhere near here," Dean suggested.
"So, you'd be willing to give up the solo hunt and have Caleb or someone else help?" Daniel asked.
"Well…yeah. I mean, I've been dying for the day when Dad lets us do a hunt without him, but…we gotta think of Sammy, besides, the more help we have the quicker we get done and the sooner we can get to Palo Alto," Dean answered.
"Okay, so…I'm gonna call Caleb. You sure that's what you want?" Daniel said.
"Yeah, call him," Dean replied.
"Okay."
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"Okay, Danny boy…we'll be there later tonight. You two sit tight and don't do anything until Josh and I get there," Caleb said into his phone. He listened for a few moments and smiled as he shook his head. "Yeah, I understand you and Dean want to see half pint…just hang out until we get there. We're leaving now," he said before ending the call.
"So, where we headed now?" Joshua asked as he stuffed clothes into a large duffel bag.
"Area 51…Danny and Dean have a hunt they need help with," Caleb answered as he too began to pack his stuff into his bag.
"Where's John?"
"He was supposed to be there today, but he had another hunt come up in Colorado. He's gonna be delayed."
"And he just told the kids to take care of their hunt by themselves?" Joshua asked suspiciously.
"Well, the kids are in their twenties, Josh. They've been hunting since before they were teenagers," Caleb answered.
"Okay…then why do they need us?"
"Well, Danny said they've been distracted with Sammy being away and all. They're still not comfortable without him being in their care. They don't want anything to happen that's gonna keep them away from him."
"Yeah…well, can't blame them there. What, with everything that's happened the past few years. I'm just a bit surprised is all. Not that Danny would call for help, but that Dean would let him. That kid's been itching for a solo hunt for he and Danny for ages now."
"Yeah, but you know he's always gonna think of half pint first. They're going to see him as soon as this hunt is finished."
"Half pint," Joshua said with an amused grin. "You do remember the last time we saw the kid, right? I'd say by now he's probably taller than you and his brothers…that kid's growing like a redwood," he added.
"Yeah, well…he'll always be half pint to me no matter how big he gets. I'll always see him as that chubby little kid who was always sticking his sticky fingers all over me," Caleb said with an affectionate grin.
"I'm sure he'd like to hear that. He's grown into a pretty damned good hunter," Joshua said.
"Yeah, I know he has, but he's still the baby of our little clan and he always will be the baby," Caleb said.
"Well, just don't let him hear you say that, okay?"
Caleb grinned as he finished packing his gear. Fifteen minutes after Daniel's call, the two hunters were on the road and heading west to Nevada.
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Daniel stood and looked over at Dean. "They're on their way. They'll be later tonight. Caleb said to sit tight and wait for them so I guess we have the day," Daniel said.
"Okay…so, what do you want to do? More research?" Dean replied.
"First I want to get a shower then breakfast. We'll figure the rest out after that," Daniel answered as he headed for the bathroom.
Dean sat down on his bed and rested back against the headboard. He swung his legs up onto the bed and reached for the television remote then switched the television on. He flipped through the channels, but then something on the local channel caught his attention. He sat up as a breaking news report played out on the screen. The broadcast ended and Dean shut the television off. He jumped up from the bed and hurried to the bathroom door. He gave a quick knock then opened the door part way.
"Danny…we've got a problem. Hurry up and finish!" he called over the sound of the shower.
"What! What's going on?" Daniel called back.
"Just hurry up…there's been another disappearance!"
"Sh*t!" Daniel exclaimed as Dean backed out of the small room and shut the door.
Five minutes later Daniel emerged from the bathroom and immediately began to dress. "So," he began as he pulled a tee shirt over his head. "Tell me what's going on."
"Okay…so, a kid disappeared last night. He and some of his friends were messing around just outside the restricted area, but this kid was feeling adventurous or something. He snuck through the fence, but none of his friends would follow so he took off. He hasn't been seen since," Dean explained.
"How'd you hear all that?" Daniel asked.
"News broadcast. They were interviewing his friends," Dean answered.
"So, how old was this kid?"
Dean sighed and looked at his brother. "Sammy's age," he answered.
Daniel glanced at Dean sympathetically and nodded. "Okay, so around seventeen or eighteen. No real pattern still. We have a middle aged retired male military officer, a thirty year old female school teacher, a sixty year old male bank manager and now an eighteen year old kid. The only thing they all seem to have in common is that they got too close to Area 51," he said.
"What do we do, Danny? This kid is in big trouble if he's been taken by whatever took the others. We don't have a lot of time here," Dean asked urgently.
"I don't know. Caleb said to stay put…"
"That was when there were no new victims. Now we have a possible victim that we could actually save," Dean interrupted.
"I know, Dean! Just give me a minute to think!" Daniel cried as he paced at the end of the beds.
Dean watched his brother pace for several minutes then the older hunter reached for his phone on the table where he'd set it down earlier. He punched a button in his speed dial and waited for the call to be answered. "Caleb," he said as the call was picked up. "There's been another disappearance." Daniel listened then shook his head at something Dean couldn't hear. "No, Caleb. We have to move. We can save this kid before he ends up like the others, but not if we wait for you and Josh!"
Dean stepped up and intently watched his brother's face. Daniel frowned and shook his head again. "I know, Caleb, but if this kid dies and we could have prevented it…yeah, I know, but…Caleb…he's Sammy's age…he's just a kid and we have to do something! I'll call you later, just get here as soon as you can!" Daniel flipped his phone shut and looked up at Dean. "Caleb's pissed, but we can't wait. We can't let this kid be butchered like the others," he said as he continued to dress.
"I agree…you don't have to convince me, Danny," Dean said.
"Okay then…let's get the car loaded and go find this kid."
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Daniel held his finger to his lips as he turned when Dean came up behind him. Dean nodded and hunkered down behind his brother. There were still police mingling about and neither of the young hunters wanted to be caught before they'd even begun to look for the missing teenager. They crawled through the foliage, their years of training allowing them to make the journey around the barricade that had been erected in complete silence. They reached several vehicles that were parked nearby and snuck between them. All they had to do was get past the taped off 'crime scene' then they would be home free. They knew the police wouldn't be searching as far as the abandoned army complex…at least not yet so they needed to move fast if they were to have any chance of saving the missing teenager before the cops did make it that far.
The two brothers reached the end of the cars and both turned and sat, backs against the black and white police vehicle. Daniel peered around the end of the car to see what the police were up to. He motioned for Dean to move around him when he saw that the officers had moved to the far corner of the taped off section then followed as the younger brother made a break for the trees several feet away. Once they were in the cover of the trees they began to run in the direction of the complex. Finally, after more than half an hour they reached the concrete buildings that made up the abandoned complex. They found a metal door and made quick work of the padlock then slipped inside the weed infested building.
Daniel stopped and pulled a map of the complex from his duffel bag. He dropped down into a crouch and laid the map on the dirty floor. Dean pulled out his flashlight and shone it on the map while Daniel figured out just where they were and where they needed to go. Daniel ran his finger along the map then stopped when he reached a certain point. He lifted his head and glanced down the hall to his right then turned and looked left. "This way," he said as he folded the map and stood. Dean followed him as he went down the hall to the left. They stopped several times to look at the map then moved on. Finally, Daniel stopped and turned to look at Dean.
"I think this is it," Daniel said as he dipped his head toward the door they stood before.
"Okay, let's get in there and find this kid then," Dean said.
Daniel nodded then tried the doorknob and sighed when he found the door was locked. He pulled a small pouch from his pocket and opened it to reveal a lock pick kit. He kneeled down and began to work on the lock. Within a few moments he had the door unlocked. He smiled up at Dean when he turned the knob and the door inched open. Without warning, Dean was airborne, the young hunter flying backward before hitting the wall twenty feet down the hallway. He crumpled to the floor and didn't move.
"Dean!" Daniel shouted in surprise. He leapt to his feet and began to run toward his fallen brother, but before he could reach Dean, he was lifted from his feet and thrown back the way he'd come from. He hit the floor hard, his vision darkening even as he rolled onto his stomach. He pushed up to his hands and knees and began to crawl toward Dean. He was dizzy, but all that mattered to him at the moment was getting to his brother. He made it just a few feet before he was once again lifted up and thrown backward. He was out cold the second his head hit the floor.
Uh-oh...Dean and Danny are in trouble! Of course, we already knew that since Sam couldn't reach them, but...well, you know. Anyway, hope you liked it. I'll try to get the next chapter done more quickly, but no promises. I'll be working on the next chapter of And the Deal Goes On next. Take care all.
Cindy