Chapter 26

"I shouldn't be long." Dean said sitting his cup into the sink. "Anything special you want besides rabbit food?"

"Yogurt and granola bars." Sam replied ignoring the jab his brother made. "Oh and some salad dressing." He gathered his dishes and went to the sink to quickly wash them.

"Guess Andy's not a morning person."

"Probably not, I'm sure he'll mosey down before lunch." Sam chuckled hoping he was right.

"Call if you think of anything else, I'm out of here."

"Dean, be careful."

"Always." he smirked before disappearing from the room.

Sam heard the front door open and close and the Impala crank up with a rumble. He smiled at the sound knowing it meant safety and home. She had carried them through their childhood and was still here to see them through adulthood. He had fond memories of playing in the back seat and meant to look to see if that green army soldier was still in the ashtray in the back. He remembered cramming it in there when he was like four or five but for the life of him didn't remember why. After drying the last dish, he headed for the living room to get his laptop and start on some research so he'd feel useful.

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Dean wandered through the store picking up random items and tossing them in his cart. He saw the sign for salad dressing and turned down the aisle and faltered in his steps when he saw half the shelves were full of dressings of all flavors and sizes. In all this time he just realized that he didn't know what kind of salad dressing Sam liked. He stood there staring in puzzlement knowing he wasn't about to call Sam to ask and look like an idiot.

"If you don't know, Ranch is always a good choice." a female voice said behind him.

"Excuse me?" he asked turning to see an attractive woman who looked his age watching him with a mischief look in her eyes.

"If you want a salad dressing, either Ranch or Thousand Island or French. Those are your three basic ones." she said giving him a warm smile. "I take it it's not for you."

"Nope, my brother. He's into all this healthy crap and I don't really know his favorite."

"I'd say he's a Ranch guy." she said pulling a dressing from the shelf and handing it to him.

"Thanks, I'm Dean." he said accepting the bottle from her. "You new to the area? I haven't seen you around before."

"I'm visiting some family and I'm Ember." she replied.

"Ember, different, well Ember it's nice to meet you. How long are you here?"

"Probably another week or so. I haven't really decided."

"Maybe we could go out? I could show you around, sort of be your tour guide." he offered awarding her with his best smile.

"I think I'd like that." she said pulling out her cell and looking him. "Give me your number and I'll call you so you'll have mine."

"Sure, it's 877-659-5235." he recited watching her type it in and pulled out his cell when it started buzzing. He answered it and saved her number on his cell. "Got it. I'll give you a call and we'll plan something, maybe make a day of it."

"That sounds like fun. I have a younger cousin who's free right now. Maybe your brother would like to double."

"I'll ask." he said thinking Sammy had better say yes.

"It was nice to meet you Dean." she said before walking away and stopped as she turned the corner to give him one more inviting look.

Thank you bro for wanting salad dressing." Dean mumbled as he pushed his cart on down the aisle and toward the meat department. He hummed to himself as he picked up some meats before heading to the front to check out. Dean snagged a car magazine and tossed in a hard crossword puzzle book for his brother since he was in a good mood.

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Sam looked up from his laptop as Andy stumbled his way down the steps wiping his face and yawning widely. He had on a ratty bathrobe that was loosely tied around his waist and slip on bedroom shoes.

"Hey Sam..." he said when he saw him sitting on the couch.

"Hi Andy, was wondering when you were going to surface." Sam said glancing at the clock and seeing it was nearly eleven and making a face when he noticed it looked like rats had been nesting in his hair. He absently ran a hand over his own hair wondering if that's how he looked some mornings. Now he knew why Dean fussed at him like he did and complained about his hair and wanting to cut it.

"Oh yeah, sorry man, I'm not a morning person." Andy explained trying to tame his unruly hair and chinch his robe belt tighter. "I do my best work at night."

"I can see." Sam snickered glad Dean wasn't here or he'd not hear the end of it. "There's coffee in the kitchen."

"Where's Dean?" Andy asked looking around when he didn't see him anywhere.

"Supply run. I expect him back any time." Sam replied looking toward the window and listening for the Impala's unique roar.

"I'm gonna fix some lunch, you want something?"

"That's okay; I'll wait until Dean gets back. Maybe he'll bring something."

"Suit yourself." Andy shrugged shuffling on into the kitchen to see what he could scrounge out of the fridge.

Sam went back to reading the articles he had found while keeping an ear out for Dean. His mind was also hashing out his last vision trying to find something in it that would tell him where Dean and the yellow eyed demon were. He thought if he could identify the place it would put them one step closer to finding the demon.

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Dean wheeled his cart out the door and toward where he had parked thinking he'd stop somewhere on the way back and grab some lunch for everyone. There were several places along the way back and he was mulling over what he was in the mood for. He opened the trunk and sat the bags in the back being sure they were tied so things wouldn't go rolling around on the drive. He stopped for a moment as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and looked around sensing something wasn't right. He studied the lot with a hunter's eye but didn't see anything out of place or anyone that was paying him any attention. Shrugging it off as being paranoid, he shut the trunk and walked around to the driver's side to get in. As he started to open the door, a man dressed in a running suit stepped up to him and before he could pull a weapon or react, Dean's world went black.

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Sam looked up when a strange feeling came over him and he looked at the clock again. Dean had had plenty of time to get back from the supply run even if he stopped to bring lunch back. He closed his laptop and stood up to look out the window as he grabbed his jacket to find his cell. He dialed his brother's number and listened to it ring and then go to voicemail. Sam cussed under his breath as he redialed the number and waited only to have it do the same thing again. Sam headed for the kitchen to find Andy at the table eating a bowl of cereal.

"I'm going to see what Bobby has running and go look for Dean." Sam told him.

"Is something wrong Sam?" he asked after swallowing a mouth of cereal.

"I don't know..." Sam replied as the feeling of dread got stronger. He stumbled slightly when a sharp pain shot through his head making him groan and grimace for a moment before it faded away. He rubbed his head as he headed to the front door and was going to check the cars Bobby had out by the garage to see what was running. He fumbled around in his jacket pocket when his cell began to ring and pulled it out seeing Dean's name. "Dean where are you? Is something wrong?" Sam asked hurriedly.

"Sammy, Sammy, Sammy...You're a hard person to track down." an unfamiliar male voice said to him.

Sam's body stiffened knowing his fears were coming true. "Who is this and where's my brother?" he growled out as anger began to take over.

"Now now Sammy...I'd control yourself if you want to see your brother again." the yellow eyed demon raved boldly.

"What do you want? You better not hurt my brother."

"Why you of course. You need to leave Singer Salvage and get rid of any warding you have. I'll be waiting." he told Sam letting him head a cry of pain that came from his brother. "I'd hurry if I was you." the demon laughed before hanging up.

"Wait! Damnit!" Sam hissed madly as he headed back toward the kitchen while dialing another number and running a hand over his side that was throbbing in pain. "Mom, something's happened to Dean, he has him...I don't know but I have to try and help him...Look I think I know where he is...Do you know a ghost town called Cold Oak here in South Dakota...I'm going there now...I can't Mom!...He's my brother, I have to do whatever I can to save him...I know Mom I will..." Sam ended hanging up.

"What's going on Sam?" Andy asked when he saw the strained look on his face and listened to the one sided conversation.

"They got Dean and I'm going after him." Sam said. "Try and get in touch with Bobby and have him put the word out for any hunters near Cold Oak, South Dakota to head there. Here's his number and don't leave this house." Sam told him stressing the last part.

"Sure Sam." Andy said looking at the scrap piece of paper and getting up to find a phone.

Sam dropped the hex bag on the table and headed out the back door and into the stacks of wrecked vehicles making his way to the back gate. He unlocked the back gate and went through it and walked quickly out into the open field connected to the salvage yard. He stopped in the middle of the field and looked around knowing this area wasn't protected by any warding.

"Alright you bastard! I'm here...Come and get me!" he yelled insolently and with as much rage as he could muster. He sensed them before seeing them and as he turned darkness invaded his mind and they all disappeared.

A/N: Both brothers are gone and in the hands of the yellowed eyed demon. Can they be saved? Only three more chapters and the journey comes to an end. I do like reviews. NC

Special Note: If you'd like a good story from a great author, Clowns or Midgets, check out The Things We Left Behind. I was a sounding board and helped out as this story unfolded. It's a good read. NC