Sam and Dean drove to the mine in record time and tense silence. Dean hadn't even turned the radio on and both brothers were lost in worried and anxious thoughts. It was clear now. Stillwell was their demon. He had killed Jack and taken Isabel. After Kelly's escape and Jack's murder, Isabel would probably be the last girl he'd take before skipping town and setting up shop in some other state. It was more crucial now than ever that they find Stillwell, Isabel and the girls before that happened.
Sam pulled out the map and directions the realtor had given them and motioned for Dean to turn into a dirt road.
"This is it" He said looking around at the dark woods "The entrance to the mine should be at the end of this road"
There were no signs, and Sam wondered for a second if they'd turned into the wrong road, until they reached a wire fence. It was chained and padlocked, with a rusty old sign informing anyone who ventured there that the mine was shut, unsafe and any further progress was prohibited. They stepped out of the car and walked towards the fence. Dean examined the chain and lock before turning around walking to the trunk of the Impala.
"That's a new lock" He said to Sam as he returned with cutters. He cut through the lock and loosened the chain, before they both jumped back into the car. They sat in silence for a minute.
"What are you waiting for?" Sam asked impatiently.
"Sam, we need a plan" Dean said looking at his brother "We can't just rush in. We don't know where the girls are, we don't know where Isabel is and we don't know where Stillwell is"
"We're not going to find them by just sitting here" He understood where Dean was coming from, but now was not the time to develop a sense of logic and strategy. This was their cousin, and Sam couldn't understand why his brother, who had never been anything but impulsive, decided to waste time now "Isabel is in there!"
"I know Sam!" Dean snapped back "But the main thing is to get her out of there in one piece. Finding Stillwell is not the priority, OK? First we get Isabel and the girls out, then we deal with him"
Sam took a deep breath as he eventually figured it out. It finally took the life of someone close to him being threatened for Dean to develop foresight. Sam had to agree with Dean on this one, Isabel was the priority.
He looked at his brother and nodded "We should go on foot the rest of the way. Avoid being spotted"
"Let's load" Dean said opening the trunk again. He put a handgun in the back waistband of his jeans and pulled up the leg of his jeans, stuffing a knife under his sock. Sam loaded his own gun and put it in the front pocket of his jacket. He grabbed a flashlight and looked at his brother tossing a second one to him before motioning to him that he was ready to go.
They walked through the gates and up the dirt road. They reached the mine after about a mile and stood at the entrance, sharing a look before walking through.
It was easy enough to walk through the mine when there was only a single tunnel, but about ten minutes into their trek, the single tunnel split into two. They didn't have to make a decision as a soft thud reached them.
"Did you hear that?" Sam asked his brother. Dean nodded and motioned for Sam to follow him as they headed towards the sound.
After turning into a few series of tunnels they reached a locked door. There was someone behind it. Dean knocked on the door and footsteps were heard.
"Isabel?" Dean asked in a hushed tone.
A scream travelled through the door and Dean wasted no time, shooting the lock on the door. Both brothers rushed in, weapons raised and froze as they took in the scene in front of them. There were three girls in the room, which was only illuminated by Sam's flashlight. Two of the girls were sleeping, or unconscious. Sam rushed in and checked both girls, looking up at Dean again.
"They're alive" He said, then turned to the third girl, who was now cowering in the corner of the room. It was Melanie McKenzie, taken four weeks prior "Melanie" He whispered to her.
If possible the girl disappeared further into the wall, whispering incoherently to herself. Sam stood up and walked over to her, kneeling on the floor. He put his hand on her shoulder and the girl jumped a mile.
"It's OK" He said soothingly "Melanie, I'm not going to hurt you. Do you know where Isabel is?"
The girl looked at him wearily, her eyes darting from Sam to Dean. She shook her head.
"Do you know where he is?" Dean asked. The girl must have known exactly who Dean was talking about. She let out a wail and looked at Sam desperately.
"The screams" She breathed out, her eyes watching the open door "They've stopped now"
Sam heard Dean swear under his breath "Where Melanie?"
She pointed to the door they'd just come in through "End of the tunnel" She looked back at Sam "The light"
"Don't worry Melanie" Sam continued "We'll get you out of here. Do you want to get out of here? Go home?"
She burst into tears and nodded emphatically "Home!" She latched onto Sam and sobbed. Sam looked at his brother.
"Dean, I'm gonna get these girls out" He said, gently pulling Melanie up.
"What about Isabel?" Dean asked.
"Go on ahead" Sam said "I'll take Melanie up and call the police"
"OK" Dean said, not too sure about leaving his brother alone. But he was right. The main objectives were Isabel and the girls, and if anything happened to them down there, the police needed to know where the girls were "Be careful"
"You see anything that looks like Stillwell or Jack, and you shoot, you hear me?"
"Yes sir" Dean said with a mock salute. He turned to go.
"Dean?" Sam called out. Dean's face reappeared through the door "Find her. Please"
Dean nodded "I will Sam. I'll get her out"
Dean continued through the tunnel like Melanie had said. His mouth felt so dry and his heart was beating to a rhythm of its own, loud and fast. So impossibly loud he could actually feel it pounding in his ears.
Just like Melanie had said, there was a room at the end of the tunnel. There was a lock and Dean realized that the door could only be locked from the outside. He took a deep breath and opened it, bracing himself for whatever he would find on the other side.
The room was dark. He felt around for a light switch with his free hand. He pointed the flashlight to the wall immediately on his right, there were two switches. He flipped one on and the room was flooded with light. He squinted as his eyes adjusted and took the scene before him in.
"Jesus" He muttered under his breath.
The first thing he saw was Leslie's bloodied naked body on the gurney closest to him. Next to that one was an empty gurney, splattered with blood. His eyes continued to search the room until he felt his stomach drop, as if filled with lead. For a moment time seemed to stand still.
There at the end of the room, next to the back wall was Isabel. She was hanging from what looked like a hook, wearing only a tank top and panties. Blood and bruises covered her body and he swallowed hard as he realized that he and Sam had been too late to stop Stillwell hurting her. He had imagined and thought the kind of things he'd do to her in the twenty or so hours that Isabel had gone missing, but picturing those things in his head and seeing the evidence with his own eyes on her body right in front of him were two completely different things.
He took a deep breath, pushing his rising anger down, and rushed to her "Isabel?"
Her head rose slightly and she looked at him, her eyes half closed. She was squinting, watching him blankly, as if she couldn't quite make out who it was. He wasted no time. He grabbed her by her waist and hoisted her up, reaching up to pull her tied hands off the hook. She sagged against him and he lowered her to the floor, grabbing her wrists as he tried to free her hands. She groaned in pain as he pulled on the ropes, and his hands came away bloody. He reached for his knife and brought it forward to cut through the ropes.
"No" she whispered as she saw the knife, pulling her hands away.
"It's OK Bel" Dean said looking down into her panicked eyes "It's me, Dean"
She looked at him for a second, until she seemed to finally recognise him. Still, she narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously "Dean?" She croaked out as she reached up with one of her hands to touch his face.
"Yeah kitten it's me" Dean said grabbing her hand and squeezing "I've gotta cut through these"
She burst into tears, accepting Dean's use of her nickname as evidence of his true identity "I knew you'd come" her voice broke. After what had seemed an eternity of screaming, her throat had been scratched raw. It hurt to even swallow.
"Yes, we're here for you Bel" He said cutting through the ropes. They came lose and she resisted the temptation to rub them, knowing that they were so skinned that it would probably hurt even more. She looked around for Sam "Sam's here too. He's getting the other girls out"
"You're OK?" She asked with a slight smile.
Dean looked at her, unsure he'd heard her right "Am I OK?" He asked her through the lump in his throat "Are you OK?"
She shook her head "Home" She cried.
"I know. I'll take you home" He helped her stand, but she fell against him.
"I can't walk" she said as he caught her.
"It's alright, I've got you" He said reaching behind her knees and lifted her, carrying her out of the room.
She held on to him for dear life as Dean ran through the dark tunnel.
AN: Ooh, we're getting to the end now. Please R&R. Reviews make my work day go faster!