Chapter 14

Dean rolled into Palo Alto about midnight, briefly wondering if it was too late to go pounding on doors on a Sunday night – a school night for Sam's friends.

Then again, Sam still wasn't answering his phone.

Neither, technically, was he – at least when Viola was the one calling. She had tried three times that day, and Dean felt lower than low for ignoring her.

But that was different…

Turning the key, the Impala's soothing growl was cut off. Dean eased out of the driver's seat, not even sore from what some people would consider a long ride but was short for him and Sam. Playing with his keys, he jumped up the steps and rang the doorbell several times.

A pissed off-looking girl in pajamas flung the door open. "What?"

"Hi. Sorry. Is Sam here?"

The girl glared at him for a second before answering. "I don't know. They were all in their rooms when I got back tonight. Come on in."

"Thanks…?"

"Elena."

"Thanks, Elena."

Dean followed her into the apartment, impatiently waiting as she headed toward the hallway. Fortunately, the noise had attracted the interest of the other residents and they started coming out before Elena had to go too far.

"Hey, Maia?" Elena said, a sneer audible in her voice. "Where's your boytoy?"

Dean raised an eyebrow at that comment. Alright, Sammy…Then he noticed the tear streaks on the girl's face, and the fear came back full force. But he really knew something was up when the male pushed his way to the front of the group to stand in front of the females.

"You're Dean?"

"Yep."

"Get out of this house before I call the cops."

Dean recoiled, caught off guard by the response from the man he knew to be Sam's best friend and former roommate. "Umm…what?"

"You heard me."

"Look, man. I don't know what's going on. I'm just looking for Sammy."

"Sam left last night."

"Why? What happened?"

"Well, after we found out you were a murderer, we wanted to know what was going on. Instead of telling us, he just walked out the door."

Dean let out a wry chuckle and shook his head. "You know, I'm a big brother – so I like telling Sammy that "I told him so." But I truly wish I didn't have to say that about him wanting to have friends."

Sam's friends started to look more confused than scared, and Dean almost wished he had the time to truly explain. But he didn't – Sam was out there alone somewhere, and that's all that mattered to him. Turning on his heel toward the door, he stopped in his tracks when the girl – Maia? – spoke up.

"You might want to try Rebecca Warren's. She went out after him."

Dean turned back to Sam's friends. "Becky Warren, huh? You know – in your attack on Sam, did you happen to notice that one of the people I supposedly murdered was Becky's brother's girlfriend. And I supposedly held Becky as a hostage and tried to murder her too. Do you really think she would still be on Sam's and my side if that was true?"

Dean paused, allowing his words to sink in. Sam's friends caught each other's eyes. They had confusion written on their faces – and a little bit of guilt.

"And if that isn't true, think about what else might not be true? And, of course, what is true."

Dean was back in his Impala and ready to drive off in record time, but to his surprise, the passenger door opened before he could put his baby in drive. Jake lowered his body into the car and met Dean's questioning, shocked look.

"I'm coming with you."

"Why?"

"Because you don't know where Becky lives." Jake turned to buckle his seatbelt. "And because I owe Sam an apology."

Twenty minutes later, Dean, Jake and now Becky, were back in his car, heading back to Jake's place. Dean's stomach felt like there was lead sitting in it. Becky hadn't seen Sam since last night either. Why didn't Sam call him to come get him? Why wasn't he answering his damn phone?

The women were still up and sitting in the living room, obviously talking about and trying to make sense of what was going on. They seemed to know immediately that something was up when the three of them walked in. Dean was happy to note that they didn't look scared of him anymore – just scared…like he was.

"Alright." Dean said. "One of you try calling him. Maybe he's just ignoring my calls because he's in a funk."

Jake and Maia both grabbed their cell phones. Dean's heart drooped a little bit with each passing moment, knowing they were hearing the same pointless ringing that he had been hearing all day. Both ended the calls and set their phones back down.

Maia hit herself in the forehead with her own hand. "Dr. Sumpter."

Dean looked up, hope and interest in his eyes. "What?"

"Sam might be at Dr. Sumpter's – his advisor. He was going to help him with a project or something before he left with you."

"Do you have his number?"

"Yeah, it's on my syllabus. Hold on." Maia left the room, coming back quickly with a packet of paper. Picking up her phone again, she dialed the number. "Uh…hi. Mrs. Sumpter? I'm so, so sorry for calling so late…My name is Maia. Is Sam Winchester there?...He was?"

Dean's heart soared, sure Sam must be safe. But his joy faded as quickly as the smile on Maia's face did. She covered the phone to tell the others that Sam had crashed at the professor's last night but the two of them went out this morning and hadn't returned yet. She moved her hand and went back to the conversation.

"It's just that Sam's brother Dean is here, looking for him…uh huh, sure." Maia held out the phone to Dean. "She wants to talk to you."

Dean launched himself off the couch and grabbed the phone from Maia. "Hello?"

Sam's college friends watched his brother's face as the woman on the other end spoke. They knew it was bad news for Dean, but Becky was the only one that knew how bad it could truly be. The others, obviously, didn't know there was something that bad to be afraid of.

They were even more confused when Dean gave the woman their address. "I'll see you soon."

Dean hung up and handed the phone back to Maia.

"What is it, Dean?" Becky asked, receiving no answer. Instead, Dean pulled a battered leather journal out of his back pocket and flipped the pages open. Finding the one he wanted, he slammed it down on the coffee table and pointed to a phone number and the name Jack S. – Palo Alto.

"Dr. Sumpter's first name is Jack- he was my father's friend. Apparently he and Sam went out today." Dean and Becky shared a meaningful look.

"Out to do what?" Maia asked.

"Hunt."

"Hunt?" Jake was even more confused than before.

"Yeah…It's what me and Sammy do…"

"Hunt what?"

"The supernatural."