Chapter 11
It took a moment for what Sam said to him to sink in as he stared at him slightly confused and then it clicked and he went into full hunter mode, his body language changing completely.
"We've gotta go, I'll have Bobby pick up the paintings next week..." Dean told the owner of the gallery as he started to hurry after his brother. "Send me any information on people wanting to buy and I'll get back to you on that." With that said, Dean ran for the doors leaving the owner unsure about what just happened. He stood there with his mouth opened and watched the brothers disappear, then looked around to see if anyone else had seen it and would offer an explanation. Still confused, the gallery owner wandered back into the exhibit grabbing a glass of champagne along the way.
Dean slid into the driver's seat of his Baby and waited for Sam to do the same before cranking her up to head back to Bobby's. He jerked on the tie around his neck and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt that wanted to choke him.
"Talk to me." Dean demanded.
"All I know is Danny went out with some friends and never came home." Sam said worry laced in his words. "They've called the police but were told they'd have to wait twenty-four hours before filing a missing person's report. Josh thought maybe we could help."
"You think there's anything our type of strange going on?"
"I honestly don't know. I told them we'd be there as soon as we could."
"We'll change and pack, then head out." Dean told him planning out the trip in his head determining the fastest route that would get them there the quickest. He hoped the kids had just gone off and lost track of time and the cops would have found them by the time they got there. At least he could hope that, but he had a sinking feeling that wasn't the case.
spn
Dean pulled the Impala to the front of the house and parked. They ran inside and up to their bedroom to change into jeans, tee shirts and long sleeved shirts. Both had to-go bags ready, but added some more clothes to their packs before snagging the weapon's bag on their way back downstairs. Sam ran into the kitchen for waters and power bars for the drive. Dean grabbed a travel cup and filled it with coffee then headed for the Impala with Sam close behind him.
Neither brother felt like talking as Dean pushed his Baby as hard as he dared. Even though Danny wasn't their brother by blood, they both treated him as if he was. Danny had always looked up to Dean and Sam and idolized them. When Sam had found out about Dean and brought him into his adopted family, both families grew for the better and became a close knit group. Dean and Sam had not told Josh and Emily about what they do since they didn't want to worry them or drag them into their world. They wanted to protect them from the horrors that they faced and let them live a normal life. Sam had drawn protection sigils in their house and had hidden them as best he could. He wanted to keep them as safe as he could.
Sam's eyes grew heavy as he fought to stay awake, but the droning of the engine and the steady rocking motion had him nodding off. His head would fall forward and he'd jerk himself awake only to do it again. He finally let his head fall against the side window as sleep claimed him. Dean glanced over at his brother and saw he had lost his battle with staying awake. He sipped on the remainder of his coffee and plowed on through the dark night knowing the sooner they got there, the sooner they could sort this out. He planned on grabbing a couple of hours of sleep at Josh's and by then it would be early morning and they could begin the hunt.
spn
Images swirled in Sam's head but he couldn't latch onto any single one. Sam groaned in his sleep as pain shot through his head for a moment before a misty image began to form in front of him. Danny and two other boys were curled up on a bare floor in a dirty, dark room. It faded and another image took shape of the three boys tied to what looked like some type of altar. They were not moving, but their eyes were open and glazed over. Three cloaked figures moved to stand beside them each slowly raising an ancient looking curved knife over the boy's bare chests as chanting could be heard in the background from black robed worshippers. Suddenly the knives were plunged into their chests and draw down creating an opening to pull the boy's hearts out. The hearts were raised over their heads as blood dripped down the arms of their assailants who were chanting in Latin some type of summoning spell. He watched in horror as three black, smoky, forms tried to materialize. He could feel the evil and darkness that they carried with them. The black smoke suddenly shot forward toward the three holding the hearts and possessed them. As Sam looked on he noticed that each demon had different colored eyes, one yellow, one white and one red. The worshippers cried out in victory only to have it cut short as the demons began to drain them of their life energy, feeding hungrily wanting more power. The image exploded a bloody red in Sam's mind causing him to cry out in shock and disbelief.
Sam gasped and cried out loud before he jerked forward in the seat trying to get his breath. His heart was beating so fast he thought it might rip through his chest. Dark spots danced in front of his eyes as the vision replayed in his mind. Going through it again was not any easier, especially when the knifes were driven into the boy's chests. He choked and coughed hard trying to clear his throat and fill his lungs with air. Dean jerked the car off the road and back on throwing both of them around until he got it back under control.
"What the hell Sammy?" Dean questioned as he stared in shock at his brother who was trying to suck air into his lungs and not pass out. "Sammy?...Sam?..." he asked as he pulled the car to the side of the road and turned to his brother grabbing his arm and making him look at him seeing pain in his eyes. "Talk to me."
"I...I saw...Danny and the other two boys." Sam got out as he rubbed his temples trying to ease the shooting pain.
"Could you tell where they were?"
"No, some room, but it's worse." Sam grimaced. "They're to be sacrificed."
"What?" Dean cried out. "You had a vision didn't you?"
"Yeah, we've got to find them before it's too late. They're going to be used to summon three very evil demons from the pits of hell. They needed innocent souls for the spell to work."
"We're only a couple hours away." Dean said pulling back onto the road and picking up speed. "We'll find them Sammy...We will." he mumbled concentrating on the road as his mind hashed over what Sam had said. He could feel the tension in the car as Sam worked on getting his breathing under control so his pounding heart would not explode from his chest. He gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were turning white and he didn't know if he could pry them loose. Sam was wheezing now and gulping air until Dean started talking to him. "Sammy, calm it down bro. C'mon now, slow in and out, in and out. Slow, easy breaths. Breathe with me." he said taking Sam's hand and putting it on his chest as he breathed slowly and steadily. He listened to Sam working hard to do as he told him until the wheezing was gone and he slumped back in his seat seeming exhausted from his ordeal. "You ok now Sammy?"
"Getting there." he nodded breathing slowly in and out relieved that his chest was loosing up and some of the tension and pain was easing from his head. He tried to make his body relax as he used his brother to bring things back to normal. Dean was always his anchor whenever he needed pulled back to reality and to get his mind focused again. "Thanks bro."
"That's what I'm here for. We keep each other grounded." Dean replied seeing Sam was calming and getting himself under control.
spn
The Impala slowed on the residential street as Dean drove to Josh's house and pulled into the driveway. He parked to the side of the garage and killed the engine. It was still dark outside but the porch light was on showing them the way. Sam rang the doorbell and stepped back waiting for someone to answer. They could hear noises behind the door before it was opened by Josh.
"Sam, Dean I'm glad you're here." Josh cried opening the door wider for them to enter.
"Good to see ya." Sam said giving Josh a brief hug before going on into the house. "Where's Emily? Asleep?"
"Yes, the doctor had to give her something to calm her down. She's taking it all pretty hard."
"Josh." Dean said shaking his offered hand then followed Sam inside.
"Have the cops done anything yet?" Sam asked once they had settled in the living room.
"No, they found one of the boy's backpacks but no trace of the kids." Josh replied sadly. "We're to go back in if Danny hasn't shown up and file a missing person's report."
"Look, I need to grab a few hours of sleep and by then it'll be dawn and we can get started." Dean told them. "You wanna fill him in on what we're gonna do?"
"Yeah, I'll explain it and join you shortly." Sam nodded knowing they couldn't do a location spell without filling Josh in. "Josh, I want you to keep an open mind 'bout what I'm about to tell you. Dean and me, we may have a way of finding Danny that's not your typical way..." Sam said as he began to explain to Josh giving him some basic information about their lives and how a location spell worked. After he was done, Sam had to admit Josh was taking it better than he expected.
"I gotta admit I thought there was something that wasn't being said when we would visit." Josh finally said after listening to Sam's explanation. "I have to confess when we were at Bobby's a couple of years ago I found a book on monsters on a bookcase and glanced through it. It was mind blowing and I wondered about unexplained things. But to hear you say it out loud...Man that really knocks me for a loop. But Sam what if this spell thing doesn't work? What do we do then?"
"We've got a couple more tricks up our sleeves that we can try and maybe someone we can ask help from." Sam assured him. "We can't do anything at the moment, why don't you try and get some rest. We'll be up early and get started. You probably need to tell Emily what we're going to do too."
"I'll try but I don't think there'll be much rest going on. When Emily wakes I'll fill her in." Josh sighed rubbing his tired eyes before getting up and slowly heading for the bedroom.
"I'll see you in the morning." Sam told him before heading for the guest bedroom to join his brother. He wanted to get started now, but knew Dean was right, they needed some rest so they would be alert and at the top of their game. He walked quietly into the bedroom and saw Dean sprawled out on one of the twin beds still dressed, softly snoring. His face was buried into the pillow and Sam took a blanket shaking it out to drape over his prone body. He knew his brother would do whatever it took to find Danny. With a deep sigh, Sam sat on the other bed and took off his boots before stretching out and tossing a blanket over his lower half. He lay there staring at the ceiling trying not to think of the vision he had earlier. He knew from experience that it could be altered if they got to the boys in time. He threw an arm over his eyes and willed his mind to stop working and rest. His breathing slowed as sleep dragged him into the ebony night.
A/N: Thank you to all who are coming alone for the ride. I hope you are enjoying the story and the twist and turns I am throwing your way. There's going to be a few of those as we get deeper into the story. I do like to know your thoughts and ideas, if you have a moment please leave a review. NC
