wow, a Halloween twofer. i got a new chapter up for both Something Lost and By the Wayside. wow!!. thank you all again for the wonderful reviews, i am glad you all like it. hang in there, the mystery will be resolved before you know it :) Happy Halloween.

SOMETHING LOST

Chapter 4

A few hours later the Winchesters were back in Winchester, Sam standing in the darkened graveyard from which Dean had disappeared a week before. The night around him was still and silent, the cemetery surprisingly peaceful for what the boy knew it held. Or, what it had held. But now, there seemed to be nothing. The EMF meter sat quiet in the younger man's hand as his sharp brown eyes scanned the land around him. But, everything seemed normal. And finally, for the first time in a week, Sam let himself relax. He had been afraid that the person who saved Dean had not been able to take care of his attacker, and he knew that his older brother would not be able to fight it off again. Though he was sure that the stubborn man would try.

Dean grumbled and wrapped his arms further around himself, scowling as he watched from the car as his little brother scanned the bone yard. He didn't know how it happened, and if asked he would never admit to it, but somehow Sam had won the argument, and so Dean remained in the car. There was really no good reason why he had suddenly chosen now to listen to his brother, and he wasn't even sure that he was listening. His mind was in just too many places to think very straight. Though he vowed that he would never forget the look of triumphant confusion that crossed his little brother's face when he agreed to stay behind.

The truth of the matter was that he really didn't want to meet up with whatever it was that had taken him before, though something in the back of his mind told him that it was no longer in the cemetery. It had been awful, terrifying, and gruesome, and every time he closed his eyes he relived the experience all over again. He could have sworn that dying was less painful, less horrifying, less devastating, the ordeal was that bad. But he would never tell his little brother that, he would never worry Sam with the torture he had endured those few days.

Ever since he had awoken in that motel room he had been searching his mind trying to dig up every memory, ever image that it possessed. He forced himself to recall every little detail, no matter how horrible, his tired brain had been able to process, but he had been able to come up with anything. He hadn't really seen the attacker, at least nothing more then an undefined shadow, but that wasn't really what he had been straining his mind to find. He couldn't believe that he didn't see who had found him, didn't remember any of his treatment, not even the merest second of his trip to the motel. Everything was just darkness, not even enough for his imagination to build on. He wanted to know, had to know who was looking after him, who had saved Sam from becoming an only child.

A sudden rapping on the window made the older Winchester jump in his seat, his cracked ribs firing in protest at the sudden movement. His tired eyes looked up to see his brother, looking both frustrated and confused as he rounded the car and hopped into the driver's seat, a apologetic look spreading across his face.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"That's usually what happens when you sneak up on people. Did you find anything?" He added, wincing as he shifted his stiff body, trying to find a comfortable spot in the cramped car.

"You can stretch out in the back." Sam began innocently, though all he was met with was his brother's scowling eyes. "And to answer your question, no. No sulfur sin, no EMF readings, no dead grass, nothing. Everything's just, normal."

"That's good, I didn't really feel like dealing with steroid casper tonight anyway. What about people tracks?"

"I couldn't find anything. Besides, we don't even know if the person that found you was here. Whatever attacked you took you somewhere else."

"Well, we could always follow my tracks."

"Dude, I tried that for six days, you didn't leave any tracks to follow."

"Maybe you missed something."

"You know what, whatever. We'll look in the morning."

"What the hell has your panties in a twist?"

"Nothing."

"Liar."

"Look, Dean, I searched this area none stop for six days. I questioned every local I could find, and I read every book the library had. So don't you sit there and tell me that I didn't try hard enough." Sam yelled, his fists clenching so tight that his knuckles had begun to turn white. Everything, the entire past week, had all been too much for the younger man, the stress nearly being the end of him. He had lost his brother and he had been unable to find him, to help him, while god knows what was happening to him. He felt like a failure, worthless compared to his big brother, and the last this he needed was Dean telling him he may have missed something, because, honestly, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he had.

"Whoa, Sammy, calm down, I didn't meant anything by it, it was just an observation."

"I'm sorry." Sam began, rubbing his hands over his face as he tried to steady his breathing. "I'm just tired. Let's just find a motel and get some rest."

"Sure, Sam. You know, you don't need to feel guilty. I'm fine." Dean began, finally seeing just how rundown his little brother was. He should have known Sam would be blaming himself for not being able to find him, self degradation was what the Winchesters were best at after all.

"You're far from fine." Sam began through clenched teeth, his eyes staring down the road as though it had wronged him somehow, the impala gaining speed as the younger man pushed hard on the gas. "You would tell me you were fine after both your arms fell off."

"It'd just be a flesh wound."

"I'm being serious, man. You're not fine, you're beat to hell, and." Sam immediately stopped himself, he really had no desire to talk about his week from hell, especially not with the brother he'd nearly lost forever.

"And what, Sammy? And you shouldn't have let it happen, you should have found me first."

"Yeah, I should have. Dean, some stranger found you, some stranger took care of you. You're my family, not someone else's, I should have been there for you, not someone we don't know."

"Look, Sam, I'm ok, I'm sitting right here next to you."

"No thanks to me." Sam mumbled barely audible.

"What?"

"I said, no thanks to me. If it weren't for this... Person... You'd be dead right now, and I would still be searching for you like a chicken with my head chopped off."

"Don't be so hard on yourself."

"Dean, all my life you have always been there for me, hell, you even found me at the Bender's. And now, the one time you needed my help, where the hell was I?"

"That wasn't the first time. You saved me from an ugly scarecrow."

"Well, if you really look at it, that was my fault too. I mean, if I didn't storm off."

"Oh, come on. I was trying to give you a compliment. Look, I would never choose another hunting partner over you. We're a good team, and you've saved my ass loads of times. Hell, if it weren't for you I would have died of a heart attack like, two years ago."

"Yeah, and some poor guy died."

"Oh, my god. Just stop talking. Look, I see a motel up a head, just, pull in and get us a room."

A few minutes later that impala roared into the parking lot of the Big Mountain motel. The place was nicer then many of the others they had stayed at, and the price reflected it, but they were both tired, and Sam was sure, that one more brooding comment and he would find himself behind pushed from a moving vehicle.

A middle aged man smiled warmly at Sam as he entered the lobby, the place brightly lit, and cozily decorated. "Hello young man, how can I help you tonight?"

"Two queens please." He answered absently as he pulled a credit card from his wallet, 'Connor Matthews' being kind enough to foot the bill.

"Glad to see that poor guy up and about again." The man commented lightly, pulling Sam from his inner brooding. "He was such an awful mess before." The man continued, eyeing Dean as he leaned against the car, stretching his injured body.

"What? You've seen him?" Sam's head shot up, his eyes wide and shocked.

"Yeah, about three days ago. Guy told me it was his cousin, said poor kid got jumped in an alley."

"And you're sure it's the same guy?"

"Positive. Don't really forget a guy that beat to hell and still not going to the hospital. But his cousins or whoever they were, they were instant. Didn't want police involved and such."

"Is the room they were in available?"

"Yeah, sure it is." The man stated cheerfully, handing over the room key. "You tell that boy that I'm gad he's all right, and I think he should press charges."

"He really doesn't remember much, and we don't want him to have to relive anything." Sam lied, his face softening, puppy dog eyes melting the friendly man's heart even further.

"Yeah, guess it must have been pretty traumatizing."

"Yeah, it was. By the way, you said 'they' dropped him off."

"Yeah, older guy, about my age, near fifty, came in asking for a room, all bloodied and banged up, said he pulled his young cousin out of a fight. He was with a woman about the same age. I saw someone else at the room later too, came by with some food and stuff I guess, all's I saw was a bunch of bags."

"What did the third person look like?"

"Didn't really get a good look, it was pretty dark, couldn't even tell if it was a guy or a girl in the shadows like that. Had a hat on, covered all the hair."

"If you had to guess." Sam began, the man's smile faltering under the interrogation. "Another one of my cousins in missing, we think it may have had something to do with that fight."

"Oh, I really don't know. Short guy, tall girl, average build, like I said, it was dark and some of the lights down there are out."

"Ok, thanks for all your help."

"No problem kid, hope you find your cousin."

"I think we hit the jackpot." Sam began when he reached the car, his brother staring at him over the top. "The guy in there recognizes you."

"What!"

"He says you were in here three days ago, a man and woman in their fifties brought you in, said that you were their cousin and you were beat up in an alley. And later someone else showed up with a few bags, but the guy said he couldn't make them out in the dark."

"Guy or girl?"

"He didn't know. But I got the same room you were in before."

"You really think they left something behind?"

"No, but at least we're a little closer."

"See, that's the kind of half full attitude I'm looking for." Dean smiled his first true smile since the whole thing began and climbed stiffly back into the car. Sam just shook his head, smiling too, as he drove over to room number twelve, and hopefully, a few more answers.