Its update time! Woo hoo!! First of all, thanks for all of the wonderful comments. You guys are the best! Second, thanks for your words of concern for my health. I am much better now, just dealing with a nagging cough that doesn't want to go away. So, I won't bore you with anymore and will just let you get on with the story.

Cindy


Dean watched as Sam disappeared through the hole that the twelve year old had dug in the rock barrier separating the siblings from the outside world and swallowed deeply as absolute panic suddenly washed over him. He tried to call out to his baby brother…tried to yell for him to come back, but he couldn't find his voice. He could barely breathe as the reality of the situation slammed into him. Sam was out there alone, completely vulnerable to the elements and whatever other dangers the earthquake had left in it's wake. He had let his brother go with hardly a fight and now all he could see was everything that could go wrong. He could see everything that could happen to the small boy and he was more terrified than he had ever been in his entire life. A soft groan beside him brought his attention to the other thing that had his heart beating at a frantic pace…his injured older brother.

Dean shook thoughts of Sam falling into bottomless crevices and being crushed by marauding boulders from his mind and turned his attention to the brother that he could help at the immediate moment. He scooted as best he could closer to Daniel's side, biting back the cries of pain that wanted to escape his lips, and rested his hand on his brother's back. He peered closely at what he could see of Daniel's face and watched for any sign that the older boy would awaken. He felt a sudden wave of loneliness wash over him and instantly wanted his brother awake. He gently patted Daniel's back and leaned over as far as his throbbing back allowed.

"Danny…hey, big brother…wake up," he coaxed as he continued to pat Daniel's back.

Daniel groaned again and even moved his limbs slightly, but then he stilled and to Dean's dismay, he remained unconscious. Dean straightened and watched his brother worriedly. The longer Daniel stayed out, the worse off he could be. There were concussions and internal injuries to worry about and Dean was nearly overcome with the enormous responsibility he found himself under. He felt an errant tear well in his eye and spill down his cheek. All the teen could think about was that he could very possibly watch his older brother die before help arrived and that he may very well never see his beloved baby brother again. He reached out and once again began to softly rub Daniel's back.

"Wake up, Danny…please wake up. I don't want to be alone," he pleaded softly as the tears continued to fall.


John, Caleb and Joshua hurried through the forest in the direction they thought the cave to be, the two younger men finding it hard to keep up with the adrenaline driven father. They'd been going for quite some time when suddenly John stopped and frantically looked around at the devastated landscape and brushed a shaky hand through his disheveled hair.

"Johnny? What's wrong?" Caleb queried as he stepped up beside his friend.

John turned frustrated and fearful eyes to his friend and let out a shaky breath. "I don't recognize anything. I…I don't know which way to go. Everything looks different now. My boys…I have to find my boys and I have no idea how to do that," he answered forlornly.

"Hey…John," Joshua said as he came up to John's other side. "We'll find them. We're going in the right direction. I'm sure of it."

John turned and surveyed the surrounding area and shook his head. "How do you know? The earthquake destroyed landmarks. The compass is broken. My boys could be hurt or…or…oh God…this is my fault! They could be d-dead and it's my fault!" he cried as he brought his hand up and brushed it over his face.

"How is this your fault? You can control mother nature?" Caleb queried, the younger man moving in front of his friend to make sure he would be seen.

John took a shaky breath and rolled his head back slightly before bringing his gaze back to his comrade. "I didn't listen to Sammy. He begged me to cancel the training and I ignored him. He dreamed this would happen and I just laughed it off."

Joshua grasped John's arm and pulled his friend around to meet his gaze. "John, how could you possibly know that Sam's dreams were premonitions and not just dreams? You had no way of knowing. It's not your fault," the tall man said.

"He was so sure that it was more than a dream. He tried so hard to make me listen to him and I…he's just a kid. Why would I listen to him?" John cried hoarsely. "God, Josh. He was so scared that his brothers were going to die…what if…what if…"

"Johnny, stop. The boys are going to be fine. We'll find them," Joshua said, his hand tightening around his friend's arm.

John glanced at his friend and nodded. "Yeah…yeah, you're right. Let's go," he said before he started to quickly make his way over the terrain in search of his missing sons.

Caleb and Joshua looked at each other before they hurried after their friend, both men praying that they would find the three boys, safe and in one piece.


Sam pulled through the small hole he had created and carefully began to climb down the other side of the rocky hill created by the earthquake. He looked up toward the hole as he eased down toward the ground, the young boy having a nearly overwhelming urge to climb back up and go to his brothers. He wasn't normally skittish, but being out in the woods by himself after what he'd just been through had him feeling less than brave at the moment. He shook his head and continued to climb down, determination to get his brothers help driving him to push the fear aside. He couldn't afford to breakdown. There was way too much at stake. He may be just twelve years old, but that wasn't going to stop him from finding his father and leading him and the others back to where his brothers were trapped.

Sam finally reached the bottom and collapsed to the ground. He wrapped his arm around his side, the pain slicing through him making it difficult for him to breath. He let his head drop to the ground as he waited for the pain to subside a bit. After a few minutes, he slowly sat up and took as deep a breath as he could before dragging himself to his feet. He had another hill to climb down before he could begin his search for help and his brothers needed him to get moving. He walked to the edge of the hill, peered over and took another deep breath. He dropped to his butt and started to scoot over the edge, the boy deciding that would be the quickest and safest way down the hill. He stopped several times to rest and let the pain in his side ease, but he finally made it to the bottom of the second hill.

Sam reached into his shirt and pulled out one of the bottles of water. He opened the bottle and took a small drink before recapping it and shoving back into his shirt. He glanced around, trying to decide which direction he should go. Without knowing exactly where his father and friends had gone, he had to figure out where the most likely place to start should be. Finally, he decided to head east. He had heard his father speaking to Caleb and Joshua about possibly skirting the small lake that lay five miles from their cabins and Sam knew that the lake was east of the path he and his brothers had taken to the cabin. With that being his only clue as to which direction to head, Sam wasted no more time and headed in the direction he believed the lake to be. The boy was unaware of the presence that followed him down the path, matching him stride for stride as it kept to the cover of the underbrush.


Dean awakened to throbbing pain in his back and immediately cursed himself for falling asleep. He straightened his body and hissed as the throbbing pain turned into stabbing pain. He squeezed his eyes shut and breathed through the pain, the teen relieved to at least feel some relief from the pain in his head. After a few minutes, the pain subsided and he was able to open his eyes without feeling like passing out. He immediately turned his attention to Daniel and sucked in a startled breath when he saw dazed green eyes staring back at him.

"Danny? Hey," he said as he reached out and gently patted the older boy's back.

Daniel blinked up at his brother and licked his dry lips. "y'k?"

Dean let out a relieved breath when he heard his brother's voice. "I've been better, but I'm fine," he answered as he inched closer to Daniel's side.

Daniel rolled his upper body slightly and stared up at his brother. His eyes seemed clearer, but Dean could clearly see the pain the eyes held. The elder brother rolled more onto his side and somehow pulled himself up to a halfway sitting position, amazing his younger brother with his strength and willpower. Dean reached over and helped Daniel ease back against the rock wall, both boys collapsing back and breathing hard at the strain the movement caused them. Daniel turned his head and Dean's stomach dropped as he knew what was coming next. Daniel turned back toward him, his green eyes wide as he stared over Dean's shoulder to the other side of the cave. His eyes soon met Dean's and the pain the younger brother had seen before was replaced with fear.

"Wh's S'my?" Daniel slurred, the older boy lifting a shaky hand and grasping Dean's arm.

Dean bit at his lip as he watched his brother's face fall. "Danny…"

"D'n…where's S'my?" Daniel asked, his voice tinged with desperation.

"He…he went for help," Dean finally answered, his heart pounding wildly in his chest.

"What!?" Daniel cried, the grogginess all but gone as the teen stared at his brother in shock.

"You were unconscious and I…my back…I…" Dean stammered helplessly.

"You let him go? Alone?" Daniel cried, his hand tightening around the younger boy's arm. "He's just a little kid, Dean!"

"I know…I know. Danny…he wouldn't listen. He said he needed to find Dad. There was an opening in the rocks and he…he said he had to find help. What could I do?" Dean cried in reply, his green eyes pleading with his brother to understand.

Daniel gazed at his brother and nearly cried at the devastation he saw in the younger boy's eyes. His heart broke for the burden that Dean carried with the decision he had to have made to allow their little brother to go for help alone. He squeezed Dean's arm and gave the younger boy a small smile.

"It's okay…he'll be okay…"

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry," Dean sobbed suddenly, tears spilling down his cheeks at his brother's forgiveness. "If anything happens to him…"

"Dean…you have nothing to be sorry for. Sam'll be fine…he was trained by the best," Daniel said comfortingly.

"But he's so little and…he was hurt, Danny," Dean said in reply.

"What? How bad?" Daniel said with sudden concern.

"Uh…his head was bleeding, but not bad. He was holding his side. Tried to make it so I couldn't see, but I could tell he was hurting," Dean answered.

"How was his eyes? Was he breathing okay?" Daniel asked hurriedly.

"I couldn't see his eyes…it was too dark, but his breathing sounded okay," Dean said.

Daniel turned his eyes away from his brother and leaned his throbbing head against the rock wall behind him. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. "Okay…his breathing was fine so he should be okay. He'll be okay," the teen said, sounding almost like he was trying to convince himself.

Dean gazed over at Daniel with concern. He knew his brother was hurting, more so than himself and he felt helpless to do anything about it. He had a first aid kit in his backpack with painkillers, but if Daniel was concussed, he couldn't chance giving him anything. The older boy would just have to tough it out until help arrived. Dean had to believe that they would be found soon, that Sam would find their father and lead he and the others to the cave. Dean was sure that John would already be searching for them, he just didn't know if the man would assume they had been in the cave when the earthquake hit. Dean knew that Sam would do everything in his power to find John, but he still had an uneasy feeling that his little brother was hurt worse than he let on.

Dean reached forward and grabbed the backpack that Sam had left and pulled a bottle of water out. He nudged Daniel's arm then opened the bottle and handed it to the older boy. Daniel smiled appreciatively before taking a drink of the cool water. He sighed as the liquid made its way down his parched throat then he handed the water back to Dean. Dean took a swallow then capped the water and placed it on the ground beside him. He glanced up at the hole that Sam had crawled through and bit at his lower lip. He tore his eyes away when he felt a soft nudge on his arm. He turned back to Daniel who was eyeing him with concern.

"Dean…you couldn't have stopped him. You know how stubborn the little dork can be. Gives Dad a run for his money," Daniel said, the teen knowing exactly what was going through his younger brother's head.

"If anything happens to him, Danny…I'll never forgive myself. I could have stopped him…"

"No, you couldn't have. With you and I hurt, there's no way Sam would have stayed if there was a way he could go for help. You know he's probably blaming himself anyway," Daniel said.

"Yeah…he is. Says he should have made Dad listen to him," Dean said in reply.

"See…no way you were going to stop him when he's blaming himself for what's happened," Daniel said.

Dean nodded his head before resting it back against the rock. Daniel did the same, the older boy letting his eyes fall shut for a moment as pain rocked through his head. He couldn't let Dean know how much pain he was in. He had to be strong, had to hold it together even though inside he was terrified for them both, but more so for his youngest brother. He couldn't protect Sam right now and it killed him to think of his baby brother out in the woods alone, carrying the responsibility of saving them on his young shoulders. Daniel looked up toward the ceiling of the cave and sent up a silent prayer to keep his baby brother safe. He rolled his head and glanced at his younger brother and smiled when Dean turned and looked at him.

"We're gonna get out of here aren't we?" Dean asked softly.

"Yeah…we're gonna get out of here," Daniel replied as he tilted his head and rested on his brother's shoulder.


Sam hurried on through the woods as fast as he tired legs and aching ribs would allow. He was desperate to get back to his brothers, but he couldn't do that until he found his father. He broke through a stand of trees and found another path that ran along the edge of a short drop off. He stopped at the edge of the drop off and gazed over to the bottom. It was a short, gentle slope, but Sam wasn't sure if his ribs could take another climb, no matter how short. He decided to follow the path a ways and hopefully it would curve east again. Sam had just started down the path when he sensed that he was not alone. He stopped and looked into the thick underbrush on the side of the path. He reached inside his jacket pocket and unsheathed his hunting knife the pulled it out in front of him.

Sam continued to watch the forest and listen for any sign that he was being stalked, but after a few minutes he began to think he had just been imagining things. He shook his head and started down the path again. Suddenly, a loud hissing growl sounded and before Sam had any time to think, a flash of fur sprang from the trees and slammed into his body, the momentum sending he and his attacker over the edge of the slope behind him. Sam screamed out in pain and fear as he tumbled head over heel down the hill, the animal hissing and spitting as it too was bounced against the rocks that protruded from the earth.

Sam came to a jarring halt as his body hit the bottom of the hill, the boy screaming out as his already injured ribs took the brunt of the landing. Dark spots danced before his eyes as he tried to move, but something heavy was keeping him firmly pressed to the ground. Sam started violently as he remembered his attacker and he blinked his eyes several times in an attempt to clear his vision. He opened his eyes and peered down at his torso. There, lying limp and apparently dead atop him, was a large mountain lion, Sam's hunting knife protruding from its bloodied neck. Sam swallowed against the pain and tried to push the animal away, but it outweighed him by at least thirty pounds and there was no way, in his weakened state he could move it.

Sam attempted to wriggle free from the animal, his muddled mind going back to just a short time ago to when he had to do the same thing to free himself from under his oldest brother. He was able to move a few inches, but sudden and excruciating pain tore through his side and Sam's vision darkened as wave after wave of agony washed over him. Sam fought to stay conscious, the boy knowing he couldn't let himself pass out if he was going to help his brothers, but his exhausted and injured body simply had other plans. Tears spilled down his cheeks as he began to lose his battle and his last conscious thought before darkness took him was of how he had failed his brothers for the second time that day.


What's this? ANOTHER cliffy? My gosh, but I'm evil! I better get started on the next chapter huh? Can't leave our boys like this for very long. So, you all let me know what you think and I'll get started on finding our boys the help they need. Take care and love you all!

Cindy