Chapter 14

It was almost dark and Dean glanced around to be sure he wouldn't be seen as he picked the lock on the storage locker and pulled the door up. Once he found the light, he closed it back and looked around at the shelves of forgotten memories. After disarming the traps John had set, Dean moved deeper into the unit to the back where several filing cabinets lined one wall. He found the hidden key and unlocked them to see what he could find. In the last drawer of the first one he found an envelope taped to the back that had some money in it. Dean quickly pocketed it without counting, knowing that could wait. He took his pack and added several knifes, another hand gun and ammo, lock pick kit and a couple of old spell books.

He stopped his search when he ran across some photos of his family before their Mom had died. Dean looked at each one, rubbing a finger over his mother's face, before adding them to his pack. He checked out the desk drawers and found some change and a few waded up dollar bills. He rummaged some more and found receipts for another storage facility across town and decided to check it out. As he was resetting the traps and locking the unit up, his cell buzzed alerting him to a call.

"Hello." he answered.

"Dean Winchester, what's happening bitches?" Charlie chimed out happily.

"Hey Charlie, glad you got my message."

"Well it wasn't too hard to read your cryptic post."

"I need your help."

"It's not another Dick Roman thing is it?" she asked cautiously.

"No, no nothing like that. I need you to help me find Sam."

"You lost your brother?" she questioned in surprise.

"Not really lost, long story. Where are you? I'll come to you." he said grabbing a scrap of paper and writing down the address Charlie gave him. "I'll be heading your way. Thanks Charlie." He hung up his cell and headed out of the storage unit wanting to check out the other one he had found.

spn

It was dark and Dean kept to the shadows as he snuck through the storage facility looking for the right one. He finally found it in the very back and at an end row. Once he checked for cameras, he picked the lock and slipped inside. He found a light switch and flipped it on so he could see. His brows crunched together as he moved deeper into the unit looking at curse boxes sitting on the metal shelves lining one wall. He never knew his Dad had this unit or that he kept things like this. Knowing better than to open any of the boxes, he went to the desk and started looking through the drawers for anything he could use. Not finding anything there, he sat down and jimmied the two drawer filing cabinet open and checked its contents. He found an envelope containing credit cards, but they had expired and a number of fake ids with his father's face on them. In the bottom drawer was small lock box that he broke into and found some cash to add to his growing collection. Not seeing anything else useful, he snuck out and locked it back.

He was heading for the exit when some tarp covered cars caught his attention. Thinking it was worth a shot to check them out; Dean unfastened the tarp on the first car and found a corvette that would be much too flashy for him. He moved to the next and found an older model Dodge Charger that could use some TLC, but if it ran it was worth taking. After getting the door opened, he popped the hood to look at the engine thinking it was in good shape. He pulled wires from under the dash and tapped two together hearing the engine turn over but not start. He tried again and the engine sputtered and coughed, but started and he twisted the wires together. He wasn't going to get far without putting some gas in it and getting a license plate, but at least it ran. Dean put it in gear and gave it a little gas to ease out of the facility and quickly disappear into the night.

A gas station was fairly easy to find and he was in luck they had some cars sitting out back and he quickly stole a tag off one and put it on the Charger. Now that he was set, he headed out toward the interstate to meet up with Charlie. He figured no one would miss the car for a while but planned on ditching it after seeing if Charlie could do her magic and find his brother. He had a fourteen hour drive ahead of him so he settled back and let the car eat up the road. He was only going to stop for gas and grab junk food, not wanting to waste any time.

spn

It was midmorning when Dean pulled into an apartment complex and found a place to park. He dug out his cell and dialed Charlie's number, listening to it ring.

"It's your dime." Charlie greeted him after the fifth ring.

"Hey Charlie, are you home?" he asked looking up at the apartment building.

"I am how close are you?"

"At the front door. I'll be right up." he said with a chuckle and hung up. He got out of the car and grabbed his pack before heading for the stairs that would take him to the second floor and her apartment. He barely knocked and the door was flung open by Charlie who grabbed him in a tight hug.

"It's been too long, how have you been?" she asked giving him a once over and noticing he seemed different. "C'mon in, I've got some coffee made."

"Man that sounds good." Dean sighed not able to get enough of the strong, bitter brew since he had gotten back. He followed her into her small apartment, glancing around the place before moving to the small kitchen and sitting at the bar. He watched her pour two cups and sit some pastries on a plate before joining him.

"So, what's the scoop? Why aren't you and Sam together?" she asked looking expectantly at him for an answer.

"Cliff notes, ganked Dick Roman and got zapped to Purgatory. Just found my way out, need to find Sam and get back in the game."

"Whoa! That's a mouth full. So Sam wasn't pulled in with you?"

"No, he was standing on the other side of the room. I've tried his numbers but they've all been disconnected and thought you could let your fingers do the walking over the key board and find him for me."

"I'll see what I can do, but it may take a while. I know your brother and he probably covered his tracks so he can't be found."

"I'm pretty sure he did. But maybe you can look for my car, '67 Impala, there's probably not a lot of them around."

"Good idea." she said. "I'll get right on it after we finish our coffee. You want to hang around?"

"If you don't mind, I might sack out on your couch for a few hours. I drove all night to get here."

"Be my guest." she said popping the last bite of her pastry into her mouth and licking her fingers. "I'll put together some algorithms to start searching." She got up and washed her hands before going to her desk and laptop.

Dean finished his coffee and moved to her couch stretching out and letting the steady tapping of the computer keys lull him to sleep. His sleep was light since he was still not used to being back yet. All his senses were on hyper alert so he would know if there was any danger around him. After his time in Purgatory, he learned quickly that you never let your guard down and never to relax because it could get you killed. His dreams took him back to Purgatory and fights he had, but what hurt the most was leaving Cas behind. He could still see his face as he pulled away from him and went to fight the Leviathan that showed up. He jerked and twitched in his sleep until he woke himself up with a gasp.

"Hey you okay?" Charlie asked looking up at him.

"I'm fine, bathroom?" Dean grunted knowing there would be no more sleep right now.

"Beside the bedroom." she replied as she continued to work on her laptop.

Dean got up and made his way to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He turned on the cold water and splashed his face with it, before looking into the mirror at his reflection. He was not the same person that got sucked into Purgatory over a year ago. Huffing out a hard sigh, dried his face and relieved himself before going back into the other room. It seemed the longer he stayed here, the smaller the place became. It was like the walls were closing in on him.

"Look, you've got my cell number; when you find something call me. I'm going to head out." Dean told her as he reached for his jacket.

"You sure you don't wanna stay? I can order a pizza or something?"

"No, that's fine, thanks for the help Charlie."

"Any time dude, you know I love you right?" she asked as she gave him a hug.

"I know." he said retuning her hug and kissing the top of her head.

"I'll call as soon as I find something." she assured him getting a nod as he headed out the door.

spn

Dean drew in a shaky breath once he was out in the open letting the tension and unrest flow out of him. He wiped his face with a trembling hand before heading to the car. He needed to swap tags again if he was going to continue driving it and wanted to get that done before a cop pulled him over. He decided to find a long term parking lot and swap his tag with someone else's for the time being until he could find a car of his own. Dean wanted his Baby back, but that would have to wait.

Two hours later, he was on the road with a new tag and heading west to check out some mysterious deaths a state over. He was too restless to sit around and wait for Charlie to contact him and knew hunting would take his mind off his brother. Dean just knew Sam was alive; he knew as soon as he came back. He was out there somewhere waiting for him and he wasn't giving up until he found him.

spn

The town was like so many others he had visited over the years while hunting and fell back into the routine as if he had never left. He found a copy shop and made up some fake ids before heading to a bar since it was too late to check with the locals about the deaths.

Dean pushed the door to the bar open and stepped into the room, pausing to let his eyes adjust to the dim lightening. He scanned the customers as he made his way to the bar and took a seat at the end with his back against the wall. No one seemed to pay him any mind as he ordered a beer from the bartender. He checked out the crowd again and frowned as snatches of conversation made it to his ears. Being this far away, he shouldn't have been able to hear the waitress asking the table in the very back if they wanted another round or the guy telling his buddy about his shitty boss.

He perked up when someone mentioned the recent deaths and zeroed in on the table. A young guy was talking to two friends his age and he said, 'I heard all the blood was drained from their bodies,' he told them. One of the others replied, 'No way! Dude you think a vampire is in town?' 'Come on Kyle, that's stupid, it's just someone's twisted torture. Have the cops got any leads?' 'I don't think so; they're not sure what to think. At least that's what I heard.' That was enough for Dean. If what they said was true, then there was a vamp taking out the townspeople. He tuned out all the other talking and kept listening to them but they started talking about girls. He pulled himself from his trance and glanced at the ones near him to see if they noticed, but didn't see a problem. He finished his beer and tossed some money on the bar before getting up to leave. He needed to find a place to stay and find out all he could about the victims before another one else was killed. It felt wrong to be doing this alone and not have Sam for backup, but knew he could handle it. His differences were going to make hunting that much easier for him and he was looking forward to getting back into the business.

A/N: Dean's getting back in the game and searching for Sam. Thank you for reading. Reviews are nice. NC