December 9th at 1:30pm
Dean shifted his feet again. The pain in his side had subsided slightly but still hurt like a bitch. He was sure that it would be more comfortable to sit down but no matter how he looked at it he couldn't bring himself to do that. The few seconds he had spent on the floor when Nick had shoved him in was more than enough. He was almost sure that it wasn't just dirt that was clinging to his pants. Between the three of them they hadn't really said much. Dean could tell Bobby wanted too but he seemed to be taking a back seat. Bobby seemed to be in a state of shock, disgust, surprise, and other conflicting emotions. Not much could surprise the weathered hunter; Dean didn't know what to make of it. Don seemed to be losing control though. He was pacing back and forth, looking at the door every few minutes and carried a not so pleasant look on his face.
Dean closed his eyes and grimaced when a wave of fresh pain shot down his side as he stood up straighter. They had to get out of here, somehow. He needed to find his brothers. "So, anyone got any plans?" His voice hid the pain and fear well; he had a lot of practicing doing it over the years.
Don and Bobby both looked up at Dean and Bobby was about to say something when they heard the door open. Two men came down the stairs.
"Where are they?! Where the hell are my brothers?! I swear if you've hurt them I will kill you!" Dean ignored the pain in his side and walked to the edge of the cell. The pain was worsening but he shoved it aside, he wanted his brothers. Now.
Don was tempted to start shouting as well. He needed to see Charlie, needed to know that he was okay. But so far they hadn't given him any indication that they knew who he was. If they found out Charlie was his brother then they could be used against each other. If they found out he was an FBI agent then he was screwed. For now it was best if he didn't draw any unneeded attention to himself.
"What are you doing?" Dean demanded when the two men ignored him and headed to Bobby's cell. "Bobby?"
Bobby watched the two men open his cell. He saw what looked suspiciously like tasers on each of the men's belts. Bobby avoided glancing over at Dean; the kid was already a mess. If he put up a fight they would win and Dean would lose it completely. If he was correct they had just been bought. Bobby had a feeling that no one would pay five thousand just to kill him, well, there may be some people who would but those people, and things, weren't here at the moment. Nick might, but he had handed the reins over to the other man and besides, Nick liked to torture people, draw out their death. "Find Sam and Seeth, Dean." Bobby let the men grab onto his arms and take him out and up the stairs.
"Where are you taking him?! Leave him alone! Bobby!" Dean shouted again. Then Bobby was gone. "Damn it!" He kicked at the bars, forgetting his ribs for a second. The pain came at him full force and he doubled over, concentrating on not falling down.
"Dean, calm down." Don said, walking to the edge of his cage.
"Shut up." Dean grimaced and leaned his head against the bars, at least they were nice and cool. A headache was coming on and it was going to be a big one.
"Dean they aren't going to ignore you much longer if you keep shouting." Don said. It wasn't as if he had suddenly developed a liking for the guy, he just needed all the help he could get to find Charlie and get out of here. Dean wasn't going to be of much help if he was beaten to a pulp.
"In case you haven't noticed we were just sold and it seems pretty likely that our brothers were as well. From where I'm standing it's not looking too hot." Dean said, standing up slowly and returning to his wall. There he rested his head back and focused on getting rid of the headache.
"Do you have any idea who these people are?" Don asked. It seemed like there was a whole world Don wasn't aware of. Demons, hunters, slavery. Working in L.A. as an agent he thought he had seen it all but he was wrong.
"No." Dean replied. He looked over at Don. "Do you honestly think I could be a part of something like this? Wait, don't answer that." Dean leaned his head back on the wall and closed his eyes. He had spent his whole life, sacrificed his family to defend others and this was the thanks he got. 'Just makes the trouble all so worth it,' Dean thought to himself sarcastically.
Don suddenly felt bad, he didn't know why. After all, Dean was a wanted criminal in various states for serious crimes. But there was still that nagging feeling that Don had since he had met the younger man, that Dean and Sam didn't do any of it. "I didn't mean it like that, I thought…" Don couldn't believe he was bringing this up again. "They were hunters."
Dean looked back over at Don and decided to half accept the half apology. "No, if they are I don't know them. Do you have anything on you that can pick the cuffs?" It was about time they started making a plan to get out of here.
"No. I think we're stuck here until they come down and let us out. We can try going for them again but I doubt it will work. Eventually they'll have to take off the cuffs; I think that's when we should make our move."
"Okay. What about the rest of the town? That store clerk didn't even flinch when five guns were drawn in her store. If there really is a slavery ring going on I think the whole town has got to be a part of it. Which means Sam, Seeth, Charlie, and now Bobby could be anywhere."
"We'll take it one step at a time. Getting free is our first priority."
"Okay." Dean replied, leaning his head back against the wall, the headache was gone, thank God. "Oh Don, it doesn't look like they know you and Charlie are brothers, we should keep it that way. And the fact that you're a FBI agent should be kept hidden too."
"Agreed."
December 9th at 2:00pm
Sam wrapped his hands around the rope and pulled, lifting himself off the ground. Nothing, not even a groan or creak from the wooden structure. Paul had come back after taking Charlie into the barn and had not so gently led him towards what looked like the main house. From what he could see there was the barn, another large building, probably where they stored seed and grain and three houses. Two were relatively small but the third, where Paul had taken him, was a small mansion. Without a doubt they were on a farm and Sam now knew what was going on. It was like being in the 1800s, the town was a farming community and they had slaves that did the manual work. The only thing Sam couldn't figure out was how they kept this hidden from outsiders.
Paul hadn't actually brought him inside the house; that would have been too kind. Instead Sam was led around back where Paul briefly un-cuffed his hands and then tied them above his head to a wooden beam. And then he was left alone. So for what seemed like forever, but what Sam guessed in reality was about an hour and a half or two hours, he had tried getting free in every way conceivable. His arms were getting tired and his ankle and shoulder that had been hit by the whip were still throbbing. Besides that, the wind was picking up and while the sun was still high in the sky Sam knew that only meant it would be dropping soon, along with the temperature. Even though they were in Georgia it was cold, probably forty-five degrees and with the wind chill it felt cold enough to snow.
Sam looked up towards the house when he heard a screen door open then slam shut. It was Paul. Sam prayed the man was here to take him to the bathroom. Nick had let them pee in the woods at one rest stop but that had to be at least two days ago. It was all he could do to hold it in and right now he was in pain from trying not to go. It was like someone was constantly pushing down on his stomach and kidneys. Sam couldn't help but be a little grateful when he saw Paul was carrying a water bottle, some food, a sweater, and even the leash gave him a little comfort because that meant Paul was going to take him somewhere, hopefully the bathroom.
"Your number is 242, that is how you will be addressed. Anyone who is wearing a collar is a slave; anyone who is not will be addressed properly as Master. If you wish to speak you must do so as a slave. You are beneath us, dogs, and will be treated as such. If you can ask for an item correctly I will give you it."
Sam couldn't even speak for a minute; this guy had to be joking. They were worse than the hillbilly family that had tried to hunt him. Where did people come up with these crazy ideas? "Yes Jedi Master." Sam didn't know what he was doing but this guy must be crazy if he thought Sam would call him "Master."
Paul nodded his head, they all made smart-aleck comments like this at first. He reached behind his back and pulled out the whip. He smiled when Sam's demeanor changed.
Sam hadn't seen the whip. While it wouldn't do any lasting damage he had no desire to feel its sting again. When Paul started to walk behind him he turned to keep Paul in front of him.. He wasn't just going to let this man whip him.
"Have it your way."
Sam didn't have time to react before Paul brought the whip down. Its long stroke went from his chest to his stomach, cutting right through his shirt and skin. "Ahhhh." Sam grimaced and looked down; blood was already dripping down and collecting at his feet.
"Try again."
"Go to hell." Sam said through clenched teeth. He immediately regretted the words though when he felt the whip connect with his back. He hadn't seen Paul walk behind him. His back arched away from the offending weapon but it did no good, his hands were tied tight and he wasn't going anywhere.
"One more chance."
Sam was tempted to say something else but he couldn't bring himself to say what Paul wanted and he didn't want to get whipped again so he kept his mouth shut. Paul walked right up to him. Sam stared at him the best he could but his vision was wavering from the pain.
"When I tell you to say something you will talk."
The blow to his stomach was hard and fast. Sam let out an oomph! and tried to double over but was prevented by the ropes which were now digging into his wrists. He winced and almost felt a tear come out but he forced himself to concentrate and pull it together. He wouldn't give this guy the satisfaction. Dean would be here soon, all he had to do was hold on until then. Paul was walking away now, he had picked up the food, sweater, water and leash.
Sam watched him walk away. In hindsight he probably should have just conceded. He needed to keep up his strength; he needed to be able to escape if the chance presented itself. 'Hindsight is always twenty-twenty,' Sam thought to himself.
December 9th at 7:20pm
Don had given up; he had sat down on the dirt floor. As much as he had tried to keep standing his body was still slightly sore from his fight with Dean and he was getting tired. The adrenaline was wearing off and the stress, along with the sleepless nights and lack of food was finally catching up to him. His hands were still cuffed behind his back and sitting was only slightly more comfortable than standing. No matter how he tried sitting his hands still dug into his back and he refused to lie down on the floor.
Dean had followed suit shortly after Don had sat down. His side was still killing him and the constant shifting of his feet wasn't helping. He either had more luck at getting comfortable than Don, or he just wasn't as picky. They had maybe spoken fifty words since Bobby had been taken away and while Dean was able to sit still he was going insane from boredom. "So how long have you been a G-man?"
Don let out a small laugh. The question didn't indicate caring or curiosity. "You're that bored?"
"Yes." Dean replied simply, no use denying it.
"Fifteen years." Don said. "How long have you been a hunter?"
"You're that bored?" Dean asked, looking over at Don. "Since I was eight, that's when my dad, John Winchester, started training Sam and I." He added the John Winchester in there to make sure there was no confusion as to who his real dad was.
"What about Seeth?" Don knew that Seeth was their brother but that was all the information he had gotten about the youngest Winchester.
"We didn't know Seeth was our brother until about a year ago. Nick is our biological father, he wanted us back but we got Seeth instead and booked it."
"That's why he has a grudge against you guys?" Don didn't understand the whole thing but it looked like he would have plenty of time to figure it out.
"Yeah. Nick got us before, but Bobby helped and we got out. We've been keeping an eye out for Nick but it I guess it wasn't good enough."
"Why didn't you kill Nick before?" Don knew he was treading into dangerous territory now but the better he understood the Winchesters the easier it would be to catch them when this was all over. He was still an FBI agent and they were still wanted criminals, even if he did have his doubts about the allegations against them.
"I told you, we're not killers. Besides, we couldn't find him." Dean replied. He probably would have killed Nick when they first escaped but getting out of there had been their first priority. Dean wouldn't leave the job unfinished this time.
Don just nodded his head slightly and let the topic drop. He wasn't going to get into it with Dean right now, they needed to work together to get out of this.
Ten minutes passed by and neither of them had spoken again. Dean's head was dropping and he was struggling to stay awake. He was tired but he couldn't fall asleep, not now. His head nodded again but he quickly jerked it up when he heard the door open. Dean thought about staying sitting but when he saw Nick he was on his feet much quicker then he thought was possible for him at the moment. "Where is Sam and Seeth?"
Don had also seen who was coming down the stairs and whilst he was sure that Nick was here for Dean he stood up anyway. He suspected that things were about to go south real fast. He couldn't see anything in Nick's hands, hopefully that meant he didn't have a key, the lack of that would be the only thing to keep Dean safe.
"I wouldn't worry too much about Seeth. I like to play rough but you know I won't kill him. It's your other brother I would be worried about."
"Where the hell is Sam?!" Dean shouted, he was within spitting distance of Nick. Their faces a mere foot from each other, the only thing separating them were the cell bars.
"He got sold. I made a nice profit too. Between Sam and another guy I made twenty-four thousand."
"You son of a bitch!"
"What are you going to do about it? And besides, how else was I going to replenish my cash funds? Ever since you boys escaped my resources have all dried up. Now thanks to you and your friend over there I have enough to last a while. I'll be gone in a few days with Seeth and you'll be stuck here. No slave has ever escaped, and I guarantee you won't."
December 9th at 7:40pm
Nick couldn't help but smile as he walked up the stairs. Tom had gone out for the evening and Nick decided it was the perfect time to say his goodbyes. Plus he needed to start his own breaking in process with Seeth. The kid had grown too smart for his own good. He needed to be knocked down a notch. And Dean was going to help him do it. Before he had gone down there Nick had put a digital tape recorder in his back pocket. With a conversation designed to get Dean to focus on Sam he would be able to show Seeth just how much his brothers cared for him.
With some quick editing on the tape Nick walked in to visit his youngest son. The smile returned when he saw the fear in Seeth's eyes.
Seeth was still lying in bed, tied down when Nick came in. He couldn't help the slight tremor that passed through his body. The pain from his previous injuries suddenly seemed worse. He flinched when Nick grabbed his hand but was careful not to pull it away, he had already learned his lesson. To his surprise the cuff was unlocked and then Nick reached over and did the same to the other hand. Seeth didn't know what to do so he just stayed where he was.
"Get up and use the restroom, it's through that door then come back."
Seeth hesitated for a moment but didn't wait too long. He grimaced when he sat up, fire spreading throughout his midsection. Standing was a little better until he forgot about his gun shot wound and put weight on his leg. He let out a hiss and grabbed onto the bed before he fell. The small laugh that he heard from behind didn't help. Remembering his leg this time he hobbled forward into the bathroom.
Never before had taking a piss been so hard but he got it done. He turned around to go back and paused. He could spend a little more time in here; pretend he was taking a dump. Seeth glanced around, there was window. It was big enough for him to fit through and didn't have a lock. He could muster up the strength to get through but then what, he couldn't go anywhere. So without any other options and not wanting to delay to inevitable Seeth walked back into the room.
"Listen to those who love you so much."
"Where is Sam?"
"What about Seeth?"
"Where the hell is Sam?!"
Nick hit the stop button, it was a wonder what editing could do.
Seeth stared at the tape recorder. A couple things had popped into his head when he heard Dean's voice. First off they had Dean, help was gone. But help was never going to come was it? At least it wasn't for him. For seven months he and Dean had fought, Sam said it was Dean's way of caring. Sam was wrong. He had to have been. But Sam knew Dean better than anyone, how could he have been wrong about this? Maybe Sam knew and was in on it too. But Sam and Seeth never fought, only once or twice. They generally got along, why would Sam hate him? Then again, it seemed as if everyone did. No, this had to be some sort of trick, wasn't it?
He had wanted to trust in Sam and Dean, wanted to believe in them. Never before had someone cared for him and he desperately wanted to think Sam and Dean did. But Seeth had to laugh at himself now. It had always been a joke. He had put his trust in others and it had backfired.
"They put on a real good show didn't they? Pretending to care for you, treat you like one of them. Hah. I even ran into someone who told me you had introduced yourself as Seeth Winchester. You're a pathetic loser Seeth, no one will ever take you in or care for you. They'll use you then dump you when it's convenient."
December 10th at 6:00am
Charlie was lying down on the cot when he heard the bell go off. It was loud and obnoxious. He had bolted up, afraid it might be a smoke detector or something but when the rest of the people started to rouse sleepily he realized it was just a big alarm clock.
"Good morning."
Charlie looked around to see Tina stretching, her clothes pulled up and for a breath instant Charlie caught sight of some skin. He almost retched when he saw the hip bones sticking out and her stomach caved in slightly. Instead he looked down at his hands which were folded in his lap.
"Come on; let's get in line for the bathroom. Someone will be here in twenty minutes to take a few of us to work in the house."
Charlie followed Tina to one of the lines that were already forming. He saw the tired gazes of the other people and wondered just how many times they had heard that bell.
"Did you get any sleep?"
"A little." Charlie lied. He had lain awake all night, trying desperately to think of a way out of this. It just wasn't probable that in all these years not one slave had escaped. How did the rest of the people in the town not know? Where they in on it too?
"Liar. No one ever sleeps their first night." Tina said, smiling at Charlie to let him know it was okay to be afraid. They had all gone through this. A few people had even spent their first few nights screaming and shouting.
Charlie met her eyes and smiled back a little. It was his turn in the bathroom so he hurried in. Charlie tried using the restroom but couldn't instead he just splashed water onto his face. It felt good. The shower looked tempting but no one else had come out looking like they had taken a shower. Besides, there were other people in line; he had to give them their turn. So he came out and went over to his cot. Tina joined him a few minutes later on hers but didn't say anything. Charlie was grateful; he was nervous and didn't think he could carry on an intelligent conversation.
"135, 78, 86 and 241 up here now."
"Charlie, Charlie."
It took the second time for Charlie to hear his name. He looked up at Tina who was standing in front of him now.
"Were any of those your number?"
Charlie had to think for a minute. 135, 78, 86, 241. Yes 241 was his number. "Yes."
"Then come on, they want you to work. Just follow me okay, do as they say."
Charlie got up and followed Tina. Yesterday he had been terrified of coming down these steps, now he didn't want to go up. He would give anything to stay down here until Don arrived. He missed Don; he missed Megan, David, and Colby. He even missed Colby's jokes about him and the way Don always found a way to doubt him even though he was always right. He missed his dad too. The way his dad always made things okay, no matter what, even though both Don and he were all grown up.
Charlie stayed right behind Tina, he was doing a great impression of her shadow. There were two men at the top; both had guns, semi-automatics if he remembered correctly from the shooting range. Charlie felt the urge to run back down in the basement, at least there it was safe.
"Let's go."
Charlie followed the two men, Tina, and the other two slaves. They were headed towards one of three houses Charlie could see, the biggest one. They were on a farm, the land right now was just dirt but Charlie could guess who worked it when the weather was right. Off in the distance Charlie could see the tree line, the forest. But that was far away. He realised there would be no way someone could reach the woods before getting shot, it was too far away. When his eyes settled back on the house he saw a man right outside hanging by his arms from a wooden beam. His back was towards them but even from this distance Charlie could tell it was Sam. His heart started thumping when he saw the torn shirt and blood stains.
Sam could hear people approaching from behind him but he didn't have the strength to turn around. The night had been cold and Sam had shaken uncontrollably for most of it. His body was tired from the lack of sleep, food, and the blood loss from the whip marks. Sam had spent most of the night awake but at some point he must have fallen asleep because he came around when something started to drip down his legs. He had needed to use the restroom but Dean's influence on him had prevented that. He couldn't believe what had just happened, his body must have lost control when he fell asleep. He had just started to nod off again when he heard two men come out of the main house. They had walked by him without even looking at him. Sam had kept his head down, hoping to evade their attention both out of wanting to avoid getting hurt and the embarrassment. But when he heard Charlie's voice his head shot up.
"Sam!" Charlie couldn't help himself.
"Shut up."
Charlie was too concerned with Sam to notice one of the guards walk over to him and grab him by the collar. The man started to drag him towards the house. But what about Sam? They were just leaving him out here in the cold. Had he spent all night out here? It looked like it.
"Leave him alone!" Sam shouted after Charlie. He saw the terrified look on the man's face but other than that he looked fine. Sam watched them disappear into the house but kept his eye on the door, Paul was standing there talking to one of the guards. Then Charlie was at the door with them. Paul walked out, the whip in plain sight this time. Sam shifted his feet. His eyes darted from Charlie to Paul, they were going to use him to teach Charlie a lesson. He quickly turned his back to the door so Charlie wouldn't see his face when the whip hit. But Paul caught on and spun him around before walking behind him. Then Sam felt it. He tried not to scream but he couldn't help but clench his teeth and cry out a little. After a few seconds Sam opened his eyes and Charlie was gone. But Paul was still there.
"Usually older dogs are potty trained."
Sam was close enough to spit on the man but he knew what would happen and he didn't want to be whipped again. He knew that Paul knew he had won. Sam couldn't stay in these clothes, no matter how much he had to lower his pride to get out of them. So with a deep breath Sam gave in. "Master, can I please get some new clothes." It killed him to say it and the knife was twisted in the wound when Paul smiled.
"Good boy."
Sam didn't move when Paul latched a metal chain onto the collar around his neck. He was grateful when his arms were untied but held back a sigh, no use giving Paul even more pleasure in this. Paul led him towards the house and Sam followed like an obedient puppy. He wanted to throw up. Sam couldn't help but feel like he was defrosting when he stepped into the house. It was warm and the wind couldn't get to him here. The whole house looked like it was under construction but Sam didn't care, it was the Ritz Carlton to him. There was no sign of Charlie or any of the other people he had seen with him. Paul yanked on the leash and Sam walked forward into a bathroom. Another man walked by and handed Paul some clothes. They had known he was going to cave and it killed Sam that they were able to predict it.
"You have five minutes to do whatever in here. In five minutes I will drag you back outside whether you are clothed or not." Paul said as he threw the clothes at Sam and slammed the door.
Sam didn't waste anytime. He took off the dirty clothes and turned on the shower. He needed to get warm and rinse off. The warm water rushed over his body and Sam allowed himself a sigh. The water stung his open wounds but the pain was worth it. Sam allowed himself only two minutes in the shower before he stepped out and started drying off with a towel that he found under the sink. He slipped the clothes on with two minutes to spare. Next he started looking around for something to use as a weapon if he ever got the chance but he couldn't find anything. He was sitting calmly on the edge of the bathtub when Paul walked in.
"Come."
Sam stood up and walked over. This time he flinched when he heard the chain snap onto the collar. Before Paul had the chance to yank him around again Sam followed. He was led back outside and tied up in the same fashion. He wanted to ask for food but didn't want to press his luck. He couldn't believe he had been allowed to take a shower. His stomach was rumbling but he would take what he could get.
December 10th at 9:00am
Charlie's shoulders were already hurting. He had been assigned a room that had already been completely gutted. His job was to put insulation in the walls, put drywall up, sand the walls if need be, paint them, and then lay down wooden floors. So far he had gotten the insulation put in and he was starting on his first piece of drywall. All those years as a kid when his dad made him help fix the house were finally paying off. But now his body was sore from the manual labor it wasn't use to and his stomach was starting to growl. A few times Charlie had been tempted to stop but there was no door on the room and there was a man right outside watching him. The man walked back and forth between his room and the rooms that the other three people had been put into. But there was only a ten second gap between each pass, no time to stop or make a run for it. Besides, it wouldn't be him that would be punished, it would be Sam. Charlie hated how they knew that punishing Sam would be more effective than punishing him, was he that transparent?
He had appreciated Sam's attempt to turn away but it hadn't helped any, especially since Paul had spun him around anyway. How could someone do that to a fellow human being? Charlie had seen Paul's face when he did it, the man had enjoyed it no doubt about it. Charlie couldn't wait for Don to show up with the cavalry.
"Here, five minutes to eat then you go back to work."
Charlie had been concentrating so hard on not nailing himself to the wall while he was attempting to secure the section of drywall that he hadn't noticed the guard until he spoke and threw a sandwich in. Charlie waited until the man left and then took the sandwich out of the zip loc bag and began to eat. He hesitated before putting it in his mouth but remembered what Sam had said, they wouldn't have bought them just to poison them. He sat down on the pieces of wood that were meant for the floor and watched the door closely while he tried to make the sandwich last. When he glanced up to see if anyone was coming something caught his gaze. He looked back up and saw a telephone sitting on the counter about ten feet from the doorway of his room. He was still staring at it when the guard walked by. Charlie quickly averted his gaze downward and took a big bite. 'A phone,' Charlie thought to himself.
Alright guys, updates should be coming faster because I'm off school and have a lot of free time. A goal of mine would be to have this done by Jan. 22 when I go back to school but we'll see. I'm still not sure how long this is going to end up being. But I do know what's going on so don't worry.
As always thanks to ALEO for betaing. And please read and review.