Chapter 3

Plot getting thicker I hope!

Dean sat in the car, cell phone to his ear, listening with despair to the ringing of Sam's phone in the seat next to him. At some time in the night Sam must have taken off his damn jacket and been sleeping on it, now his only link with his brother was gone and he didn't know what to do next. He had examined the area with the EMF meter and had examined his watch and the car's clock for lost time but there had been nothing, no sign of the supernatural, no sign of alien abduction, nada, Dean sighed, he needed to do some research – see if anybody else had vanished from this spot, he guessed his best idea was to check into a motel and check up on Sam's lap top, fuck he was loathe to leave here without Sam, but he sure as hell wasn't going to be leaving with him.

The motel was seedy but cheap and Dean didn't bother to stop for dinner, he spent his time on the net, surfing all the sites he knew and some he didn't but he couldn't find anything suspicious about the area, there were no mysterious disappearances, no strange incidents and no more leads. Dean worked on without sleep and, finally, exhaustion took him and he fell into a stupor over the laptop, his head resting lightly on the keyboard.

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Dean woke with the indents of the keys in his forehead, his mouth was dry and his head ached. He was hungry as hell and still fucking worried but now his concern about Sam was growing to utter desperation because he might snark at the little bastard, but he loved him and he was already beginning to miss him despite everything that had gone between them. He stood up, sniffing at his clothes, god he needed to shower and change before he even thought of getting breakfast, he slipped off his jacket and went into the bathroom, it was nearly 24 hours since Sam had gone missing and he wanted him back, sooner rather than later.

There was a diner just up the road from the motel, it looked smarter than the usual place he and Sam ate and probably more costly but Dean was hungry and in a hurry and he needed to get out of there and try to find some sort of lead. He found a small booth and slipped into it, looking at the menu, after a few minutes, the waitress came over and waited patiently as Dean made his choices.

"I'll have eggs over easy, bacon and some grits" Dean smiled, preoccupied, "Coffee as well please, black"

"Sure" the waitress took some notes on her pad "Are you ok?" she asked "You look a little pale"

"I'm fine" Dean glanced up at her, disinterested, she was short and dumpy, in her early forties, her hair pulled back into an untidy bun, a smear of lipstick her only make-up "Or I will be after I've eaten"

"Ok – I get the message" the waitress gave a slight grin "I'll get on to it"

Dean watched her go and felt instantly guilty, he wasn't by nature a rude person, particularly to women, and he wished that he hadn't been so sharp with someone who was only trying to be friendly, but he was so damn worried about his baby brother, lets face it the only fucking family he had left. He sat back in the booth, letting his head slump against the leather, he really wanted, needed, to see Sam again, talk to him, let him know just how much he cared. He closed his eyes for a moment and only opened them again when the waitress returned with his food.

"Here you go" she put the plate down carefully "Enjoy"

"Look – I'm sorry" Dean tried turning on the charm a little "To have been so sharp earlier – I've a lot on my mind"

"It's ok – we get all sorts in here" she smiled at him and he noticed what warm eyes she had, gentle and caring "You're not from around here?"

"No – I'm just staying here a while" he frowned "Hey – I don't suppose you could answer me a few questions – I mean you are local aren't you?"

"Sure am – lived here for nearly twenty years" she grinned "Came as a student and never left" she frowned "What can I tell you?"

"You know that road bridge – a few miles back – well do you know if anyone has...er ever vanished from there"

"What?" she seemed to grow pale under his gaze "Vanished – why do you ask?"

"Just a little research – for a book I'm writing – you know on urban legends and the like" Dean felt the words tripping from his lips, the usual glib lies but he was hesitating, worried suddenly by the woman's pale face and frantic eyes

"Someone vanishing from the bridge right" she was trembling now and her eyes seemed to fill with tears "Yesterday night" it was a statement not a question "Somebody vanished yesterday night"

Dean stared at her, his own heart beginning to pound "Yeah – but how did you…?" he never got to finish the sentence because she gripped his wrist tightly, shaking her head

"Not here – we can't talk here – I'm going to close up and then you can take me home" she brushed her hand across her eyes and stared at him "I can't believe it" she whispered "All these years and he was telling me the truth – oh god – you are Dean aren't you? Dean Winchester?"

"Yeah – I am – but how the fuck do you know that?" he stared up at her and she shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks

"Just take me home" she said again "And I'll show you" and that was as much of an answer that Dean was going to get…..