Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or its characters and am not making any money on this…just having fun!

Den of Thieves

Chapter 11 – Lost and Found

Dean peered through the darkness trying to find out how close the pixies were to their location. Unfortunately, the echoing in the chamber could be from anywhere. "Sammy…we need to get into a better location…we are too much in the open here."

Dean helped Sam stand up and reached for the backpack, he placed it over his shoulder. Supporting Sam with his other arm, he started heading down the tunnel.

"Ummm..Dean…do you know where you are going?"

"Yeah…away from those freaks!"

Sam stopped for a moment and carefully reached into his other pocket, pulling out the gun that Dean had dropped in the woods. "Here" he gasped as the movement caused him pain.

"Sammy…my favorite piece…loaded with consecrated iron?" At Sam's slight nod, Dean smiled his first genuine smile of the day.

"Great…so now all we have to do is hope we have enough bullets to smoke those little bastards."

Dean and Sam worked their way slowly down the tunnel, stopping often to let Sam rest. After about an hour, Dean stopped and gently lowered Sam to the floor. The walking had been easy so far and there was not much to see except the odd boulder and the rails from the mining cars that must have been in use when the mine was active.

Dean pulled a bottle of water out of the backpack and handed it to Sam. "Drink up little brother, we'll take a rest here for a few moments…then we need to move on and try to find the Collector's private hide away"

"What do you mean Dean? Who is the Collector?" Sam's ribs felt like they were on fire, but he wouldn't complain. He had caught a good look at his brother's condition and knew that he too must be hurting. At least, none of the cuts though numerous, looked too deep.

Dean groaned a little as he carefully lowered himself next to Sam. He closed his eyes for just a moment, allowing himself a brief rest before telling Sam everything that he had learned while he was held by Thomas Gallagher's ghost.

"So, it is a spirit. I wonder why he couldn't kill you before? How is he able to control the pixies?"

"Whoa Sam, one question at time ok…my head is still a little sore from the 3 story jump we took earlier!"

Sam sat quietly for a few minutes, trying to put the pieces together with what his father had told him. "You know Dean…Dad found out that Thomas was practicing black magic before he died. I wonder if he found a way to bind the pixies to him. It also looks like whatever spell he is using, he can't roam far from the house…that is why he needs the pixies to bring people to him."

"Hmmm…makes sense Sammy, but why couldn't he kill me…and why did he throw me into this mine shaft to do it?"

Sam shook his head slightly. He agreed with Dean in that the answers probably lay in the secret room Thomas had mentioned.

"So, Dean any idea where this secret room might be?" Sam asked quietly

"No, but I figure, how far could he get with a badly broken leg…I don't think he would have been able to climb back out…so the room must be somewhere on this level. I figure we walk for a couple of hours in one direction and if we don't find anything…we head back in the other direction. There don't seem to be too many branches off this tunnel, so we shouldn't get too lost."

"Dean, I forgot to tell you…Dad is coming…but he won't be here until later tonight" Dean gave a surprised grunt as he slowly stood up. "Well that just means we have to get to the bottom of this sooner than later…I can't believe he's coming" Dean said softly to himself as he and Sam headed down the tunnel again.

ooooooooo

Thomas paced back and forth muttering to himself. "I can't believe, all my plans…you all know the rules, now I can't kill the younger brother…even if he dies, I can't take over his body. What a mess!"

The pixies in the room cowered from the anger of their master. "Ok…you need to go into the tunnel and report back on what you find. I need to know what those two are up to…all may not be lost, if we can lure the older hunter into the sacred room, I can at least kill him and claim his body. Even though I may not be able to kill the younger one directly, I can make him wish he was dead."

The pixies quickly left the house and headed into the tunnels to do their master's bidding.

ooooooooo

"Dean" Sam gasped as he stopped holding his chest. "I'm sorry, I just can't seem to catch my breath…you need to find the way out and get Dad…I'll be fine…really…just leave…" Sam slumped to the ground unconscious as the pain finally won out.

"Aw Sammy" Dean gently moved Sam's body into a more comfortable position. He checked Sam's breathing and was concerned how shallow it sounded. He knew that his brother hadn't totally recovered from his battle in the river. Damn it, even though he would not want anyone else to guard his back…he hated the fact that it usually ended up with Sam getting injured. Dean was constantly at war with his feelings…he wanted to have Sam in his life…but sometimes the cost seemed just too high.

They had been wandering around in the tunnels for a couple of hours now with no results. Dean figured that as soon as Sam woke up, they would get out of Dodge…he could get Sam some help and then come back with his father later. Decision made, Dean tried to gently wake up his younger brother.

"Sammy…come on little bro'…we gotta get you somewhere warm and get those ribs looked at…Sammy?"

Sam heard his brother's voice in the darkness, but was having trouble opening his eyes. He was chilled to the bone and each breath seemed to take too much effort. "Dean….what happened?" groaned Sam as he tried to sit up.

Dean reached over and helped his brother into a sitting position. "Not much, you just decided to take a little nap on me…not that I mind usually…but we need to start finding a way out of here!"

"What about the spirit's hidden room Dean? We need to try to find his bones so that we can get rid of him once and for all. I'm fine now…just give me another minute and we can start again."

Before Dean could respond, they both heard the high pitch giggle of the pixies. "Come on Sam, rest time is over!" Dean said as he placed Sam's arm over his shoulder again and started to pull him along the corridor. He didn't want another run in with the little beasts if he could help it. The problem was, they were probably between them and the way out.

The brothers walked for another half hour in the opposite direction of the pixies' sounds. "Dean…stop a minute, do you…"

"Sammy…you're not going to faint on me again are you?…cause if you are, I'm going to let Tinker Bell and her buddies do a little fairy dance on your ass…we have to keep moving!"

Sam would have glared at Dean except, it was too dark for Dean to see the look and it would take too much effort. "Dean..wait…you know how a border collie gets sheep to go where it wants them to go? It nips and barks and generally uses the animals' fear to move them where it wants them to end up."

"Ok…I give up…what the hell does that have to do with our current situation…are you sure you're feeling ok?" Dean reached up to feel Sam's forehead to check for temperature. Sam angrily batted his hand away, groaning as the motion caused his ribs to complain again.

"All I have to say Dean is…Baaaaaaaaa!" With that Sam stopped and slumped down against the nearest wall, waiting for Dean to decide to listen to what he had to say. Dean sat down next to Sam with a slight groan. God he was tired and he knew that Sam was also getting close to the end of his rope.

"So…you think we are being led somewhere by our little friends?"

"No Dah…listen, you said that the spirit couldn't kill you at first…maybe he can only kill you down here…does the phrase 'lambs to the slaughter' mean anything to you? I think that we are being driven to wherever the spirit wants us to end up…and if that is true…I'm not sure we want to accommodate him!"

"Ok…Ok…I get it. But we don't have much choice here. Neither one of us is in any shape to take on a gang of pixies. Until we can figure out how to break the spell that binds them to Thomas…I don't see any other option…do you?"

"I guess not…I just hate feeling like I'm walking into a trap with my eyes shut!" Sam started to get up again, ready to move on. He reached up to a small rock outcropping to pull himself up when suddenly, the whole wall moved in. Sam disappeared before Dean's eyes into the darkness.

"Sammy!" Dean yelled as he tried to see into the darkness beyond the opening. But the only answer was a low moan….

TBC

Raven524: Sorry for the gap in updates…but unfortunately work has interrupted the flow (hmmm…maybe the pixies had a talk with the boss). Hope you like the newest chapter. With luck, the next one should be up soon…but as you already know by now…lots of reviews usually gets me going faster! Remember to R&R!