Before: Sam moved to the unconscious demon, throwing her over his shoulder, and ran back to the Impala. He needed to get her somewhere secure before she came to. But where? The motel was out, since it was probably crawling with cops looking for him. He couldn't drive to Ellen's or Bobby's, they were too far away. As Sam threw the demon into the trunk, making sure no one was watching, he tried to figure out what to do next.

Chapter Nine

Sam vigorously shook the can of spray-paint. He was almost done with the demon trap, if only this damn paint would work.

The captured demon sat tied to a chair in the middle of the hastily drawn trap. She was once again unconscious, having come around once when Sam pulled her out of the trunk.

They stood in the living room of Abandoned House #2, which Sam and Dean had investigated just a few hours before. It was located outside of the town, nestled off the highway behind the cover of some trees. A good, isolated location. Now only if it had heat, it would be the perfect hideout. It was freezing.

Finally getting the paint to work, Sam stood up, trap complete. He looked at his captive, wondering what this was all about. She was still out cold, and it didn't look like she was going to come around anytime soon. With a sigh, Sam pulled his phone out of his pocket and stepped into the kitchen. He felt obliged to call Ellen and tell her what had happened. Sam hated to make her worry, but it was her daughter, after all. And, to be honest, Sam wouldn't mind having someone who could help with this situation.

Ellen picked up after the third ring. "What's up, Sam?"

"Hey, Ellen. Listen, something happened. Dean and Jo…" Sam stopped as he choked up a little. This was harder than he expected, as though saying it out loud made it more real.

"Dean and Jo what, Sam?" Worry was laced through Ellen's voice.

Sam took a deep, steadying breath. "They're missing. They were at the bar last night, but never came back. When I was tracking them I got jumped by a demon. I managed to subdue her, and I'm going to talk to her once she comes around, but I think…" Sam had to take another steadying breath. "I think they were taken by demons. Ellen, I'm sorry, I don't know anything else."

There was silence on the other end. Finally, Ellen spoke, a deadly undertone in her voice. "Where are you? I'm coming to help."

"In a small town called Lakeside in Wyoming."

"Alright I'll be there as soon as I can. Don't worry, Sam, we'll find them." With that, she hung up.

Sam stared at his phone for a moment. It felt good to know someone else was going to help, that he wasn't alone. He hadn't felt this desperate or hopeless before. He'd been on tons of cases like this, even worked several of them by himself. Find the victim, gank the demon, simple as that. But now that the victim was his brother… no, he couldn't think of Dean as a victim.

Sam composed himself and walked back into the living room. He noticed that the demon was coming around, and he walked over to the old couch where his duffle bag lay. Digging through it, he pulled out Ruby's knife, a canister of salt, and a flask of holy water. Shaking the flask, he made a mental note to stop by a church sometime soon. They were running low on holy water.

The demon shook her head as she finally gained consciousness. Sam could see her expression change from that of confusion to that of anger as she took in her situation. She glared at Sam, pure hatred in her eyes.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Sam demanded.

The demon leered at him, not responding.

"Let me ask that again. Who are you?"

"Untie these knots, and maybe I'll tell you as a reward."

"Right." Sam picked up the knife and stepped into the demon's trap. With one quick motion, he brought the knife down and slashed her arm. The demon screamed in pain. "You see, you're not really in a position to negotiate. When I ask you a question, you're going to answer it. Now, who are you?"

Instead of answering, the woman spat in Sam's face. The hunter reached back and grabbed the salt, pouring a little into the open wound. The demon howled, struggling against the ropes. Sam pressed the salt further into the gash, causing the demon to scream even louder. Normally he wouldn't have been this cruel, but his brother's life was on the line, and this bitch was in his way. He had no sympathy for her. Finally, she screamed out a name. "Rachel!"

Sam stepped back, shocked. He knew that name. They had worked a case with a demon named Rachel and her sister Ryan two years ago back in Maine. Horror gripped Sam as the details of the case came back to him. He remembered seeing countless of viciously mutilated victims, having to soothe grieving families, and mourning the loss of some of their fellow hunters. He also distinctly remembered exorcising the demons.

"Rachel? How the hell are you topside?"

She grinned at him. "I do believe I actually have you and your brother to thank for that, darling. After all, the two of you were so kind as to open the gates of hell and allow us back up here. I do appreciate it, darling." The grin faded. "Unfortunately, that favor wasn't enough to make up for what the two of you did to us."

Well, shit. That answered his earlier question of what she wanted. Revenge. Sweet, maniacal revenge. While Rachel wouldn't be able to do much avenging in her current situation, Sam had no idea what the situation was with her sister and the missing hunters. Dread clenched his stomach as he remembered all of the vicious mutilations the demons had inflicted on their victims. He needed to find Dean and Jo. Fast.

"Where are Dean and Jo?"

The sick grin slid back onto Rachel's face. "I imagine they are either in pain or in agony. Depends on how fast Ryan's working."

Sam slapped her, sending her head reeling to the side. "Where are they?"

"Oh, darling, and I thought you were supposed to be the nice one. Your brother's the one with the reputation of being violent and short-tempered." Her words were greeted with another punch to the head followed by a gash on her other arm.

"Where are they?"

She looked at the fresh blood pouring down her forearm and laughed. "This again? Is this really the best you can do, darling? I'm rather disappointed." Sam ignored her and dumped salt into the open wound. She screamed, but the smile never left her face. "There's nothing you can do to me that will make me tell them where they are."

"We'll see about that. After all, this got you howling your name." Sam pressed his thumb into the salted wound. Rachel screamed again, throwing her head back. When Sam released the pressure, however, he was surprised to see that the demon was laughing.

"Do you really think that I would tell you something I didn't want you to know?"

Sam reached for the holy water as her words sunk in. She made it sound like she wanted him to know who she was, like she was playing with him. For her, this wasn't an interrogation. It was a game. A twisted, violent game that could cost him his brother's life if he didn't play well.

Unscrewing the flask of holy water, he forced her head back, pouring the purified liquid into her gaping mouth. She gagged and screamed as the water burned her from the inside.

"Where. Are. They?"

Rachel remained as stubborn as ever. Sam tried as many different techniques he could think of to try and get her to talk. Holy water, salt, demon blade, even a few lines of the exorcism. But she didn't budge. After nearly an hour of fruitless interrogation, Sam reached his breaking point. He finally let out his bottled up anger, anxiety, and frustration and punched the demon into unconsciousness.