CHAPTER 4
Dean kept glancing at the kids in the backseat from the rearview mirror. Ryan was shaking a bit , he had stopped crying but he looked pale. The kid was leaning into his older brother. Collin was whispering soothingly to Ryan while rubbing his back. Any kid would be traumatized if he/she were in Ryan's place. Dean looked at Sam who was also watching the kids.
The ride back to the motel was spent in silence. Dean parked the car and Sam went out and made his way to the backseat. Sam's heart broke for the two kids. He knew by now that the kids live alone because not even once did Collin mention the name of any adult he could count on. So while Ryan have his brother Collin but Collin have no one or both the kids don't have any adults to guide them or protect them in their lives. He opened the backdoor and the kids made their way out.
"Who are they Cole ?" Ryan whispered to his brother only when he noticed that both Sam and Dean were busy taking stuff out from their car and couldn't hear him. He didn't speak much around adults. He mostly talked to his brother. His father hated when he spoke without permission and though the man wasn't around but he had already damaged his son's confidence to speak without fear in front of any adult.
"They are hunters , kiddo. The taller one is Sam and the other one is Dean. They are brothers like you and me. Dean is the older one." Collin said and he noticed that as soon as he said 'hunters' , Ryan's eyes went wide in fear. His father and uncle were hunters too and they did horrible things with him and his brother. All of that was in the name of training them to be the best hunters. But Collin knew that you don't beat your kid black and blue or throw him as bait or burn his hand for not using a flamethrower properly for training him. That was just abuse. And that had made him and his brother always scared and fidgety around any adult. Even though both the men were no longer in their lives but they had already done the damage.
"Hey I am here. You don't have to worry , okay. We don't have to stay with them for long. Its dark out there , you know. Its just for sometime." Collin said.
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"Dean these kids , look at them man. Collin is what twelve or maybe thirteen and Ryan is nine. They are little kids and they live alone. The way Collin flinched when you touched his shoulder or the way Ryan hid behind Collin when he saw us , you know what that means ?" Sam said to his brother. They were taking their duffels out from the trunk. The kids were already inside their motel room.
"I know Sam. It all points to an abusive past. But I don't think the kids trust us enough to share their life story with us. So right now I say we go inside and look after them." Dean said taking out the bags and closing the trunk. Sam nodded because Dean was right , they have to gain their trust if they wanted to help them. Together the Winchester brothers made their way inside.
Ryan and Collin were sitting on the bed closest to the door. But as soon as the door opened they jumped to their feet. They weren't given permission to sit. If it were their fathers then they wouldn't be able to sit for a whole week but they didn't know how Dean and Sam would react. Collin didn't think about these rules when he was earlier here because then the only thing in his mind was finding his brother. But now he remembered all those rules that they had while living with his father and uncle.
Dean opened the door with Sam close behind him. He saw Collin and Ryan sitting on his bed. But as soon as the kids saw him and Sam , they stood in attention position and their faces showed unmasked fear. Dean looked at Sam who looked as confused as him.
"You need rest, kids. Why don't you both sit down ?" Dean said gently to the scared kids in front of him. But what happened next confused him and made him furious at the same time.
Ryan looked at his brother and Collin nodded and they both sat on the cold floor of the motel room.
"Hey, Dean meant bed , kids. Its cold down their , come on." Sam said guiding the kids to his bed. And there they got another proof of the kids' past. It didn't take a genius to guess that the kids stood seeing them because they weren't given permission to sit. Who needs permission to just sit ? And then they sat on the floor instead of bed. That shows that at time they were forced to sit on the floors. Sam looked at Dean and seeing Dean's face pinched in anger , he figured Dean had too drawn the same conclusion as him. Sam was pissed too but Dean was looking way more pissed than him. Dean was looking like he could punch someone at any second. The last thing the kids need was to be afraid of them so he squeezed Dean's shoulder and with his eyes he pointed towards the kids.
Collin and Ryan were looking at Dean and Sam and noting their every move. Ryan didn't understand why Dean got so angry and Sam so sad when he and Cole sat on the floor. They always used to sit on the floor. Their fathers used to get room with only two beds so he and Cole always took the floor for sitting , eating and sleeping. They were used to cold floors. And now too they use floor as the storage room they live in isn't big enough and they didn't have any money for the beds.
Dean took out the first aid box and made his way slowly towards Collin and Ryan so as not to scare the already scared kids. If he could get his hands on the bastards who had abused these kids. He thought but then swallowed his anger because the last thing the kids need was to get afraid of them.
He sat on his bed facing the kids with Sam sitting beside him. "Hey kiddo. Lift up your shirt so I can check for any broken ribs or bruises." Dean said looking at Ryan.
Ryan looked at his brother and shook his head. He didn't want these men to see him without his shirt. His back was covered in ugly marks and so was his chest. Collin knew what his brother was saying. He squeezed Ryan's hand which he was holding and looked Dean in the eye and said ,
"Sir , I already checked him. He has no injuries on his back and chest. Just a few cuts on his arms from the ropes." Collin was holding his breath because not only did he speak out of turn but also he was disobeying a direct order although it was meant for his brother. It was true, he had checked Ryan two times in the car and one time in the motel room when Dean and Sam were taking their bags from the car. Ryan was fine and if he wasn't Collin would be panicking. He was panicking now too but for a completely different reason , he was panicking for his punishment which would surely come for his disobedience. He was equal amounts of surprised and relaxed when no slap , punch or kick came.
Dean nodded because if Collin said Ryan was fine then it means Ryan was fine. Collin was a good older brother , he would hide his own injuries but not of his little brother. He didn't know these kids but that part could be figured by even a fool.
Sam looked at Dean and he was thinking the exact same thing as Dean that Collin would not lie about his brother's health.
"Okay , how about I treat your cuts then ?" Dean said.
Ryan again looked at his brother and for a moment Sam thought that the kid couldn't speak but he remembered that he had heard Ryan speaking Collin's name at the warehouse. So the kid could speak , he was just scared to death of them.
Collin nodded his head at his brother and also mustered a small reassuring smile. Ryan didn't look at Dean and instead he looked at the floor but he did offer his arm to Dean.
Dean took the little arm as gently as he could. The cuts weren't that major. So they just had to be cleaned and bandaged. Dean began cleaning the cuts with sterile wipes. It stings like a bitch but it prevents infection. Ryan flinched a few times and Dean felt like he was the one hurting the kid instead of tending to his wounds. But atlast the cleaning was done. Then came the easy part of wrapping clean bandages around the little arms.
Sam noticed Ryan looked like he could sleep at any moment. His eyes were drooping. But the kid needed food. He was looking way too pale for his liking. Infact both the kids needed food. Collin too hadn't eaten much. As he was about to stand Collin spoke ,
"Sir, I know I said I would do anything for you if you find my brother. I am ready to do anything you ask. But please if you could give him some food too. I would return your money tomorrow , I promise. Please, sir. I would do anything." Collin said looking at Dean and then Sam.
Dean and Sam's heart broke seeing a kid begging for food. Even though they were hardass hunters there were somethings in the world they couldn't bear. And one of them was seeing the kids miserable. Collin had to be hungry too but he was asking food for his brother and not for himself. And for that Sam's respect for the kid increased a few notches. He could relate Collin to Dean in the sense of always putting the needs of their little brothers before them.
"You don't have to do anything for us. What we did is our job , okay. We don't want any of your money either." Dean said.
"Dean is right , kiddo. And as for food , Ryan is eating but you too. You , yourself haven't eaten much." With that Sam stood and made his way to a small kitchenette in their room. Thank god ! this room came with a kitchen. Sam thought.
'That was weird.' Collin thought. He didn't even know these people and they were being way too nice with him and Ryan. Even more than their own fathers had ever been. Maybe they were testing him. He hated these tests. He had been tested a few times by his dad and uncle and each time according to them he had failed. And failures get punishment. He hoped that that wouldn't be the case here.
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