Chapter 5:

Whap! Whap! Two down, eight to go Sam thought. Damn that hurt. He still wasn't sure how his jacket had been ripped off to expose only the thin t-shirt he was wearing. His only thought was trying to get himself off the damn wall. But he just couldn't move. Whap! Geez, this guy was serious about his punishment. He continued to strain against his invisible ropes. His muscles felt like they were about to rip from the effort. He could hear the ghost saying something to him as he hit him again, but he didn't pay attention to the actual words. All he could think of was getting off the wall, getting Dean and getting the hell out of there. He was willing to jump from the attic window if necessary. He was really ready to burn those bones now. That thought brought a small bit of joy to him. He couldn't wait to send Mr. Wells to hell, where he belonged. Whap! That one hurt. He was sure the skin on his back ripped with that one.

"Maybe this will make you think before you disrespect your elders again boy." Mr. Wells was saying.

Doubt it, Sam thought. He heard the whoosh of the belt being taken back to strike again and he tensed his body. But the blow didn't come. Suddenly he heard a click and then the familiar sound of a gun blast. A smile formed over his lips. Thank you Dean he thought. His body was suddenly released and he sunk to his knees. Dean was beside him in a second.

"Sammy. You okay?" Dean asked as he examined his back. Blood was starting to trickle from two of the wounds.

"I'm fine Dean. What took you so long?"

Dean snorted. "Excuse me, I was a little unconcious at the time." He helped Sam to his feet. "Let's get the hell out of here and burn that fucker."

"I second that." Sam said. But when he turned to look at Dean he froze. His eyes froze on the blood that was flowing down the back of his brother's neck and pooling on his shoulder. "Shit Dean. Let me see how bad it is."

Dean waved him off, "It's fine Sam. Worry about it later." Sam didn't falter from his stare. "I hit the corner of that chest over there when I fell. It's fine."

"It's bleeding bad Dean. It's not fine."

Dean sighed, "Do we really have time for this right now Sammy?"

Sam let his gaze fall, "No we don't." He grabbed his jacket and put it on, and also grabbed his own gun. "I tell you what we will have time for though." Dean gave him a questioning look. "When we are done here, we're taking a break Dean. A real break with no hunting."

"Whatever dude." Dean replied.
The boys slowly began to search the attic again, both moving more sluggish than usual. And as usual they each continually shot worried glances to the other. After about ten minutes of fruitless searching Sam was ready to give up when he noticed something behind a wooden bookshelf. "Dean come here." With a small shove Sam moved the bookshelf down and found a small door behind it. With a silent prayer that this is what they were looking for he pulled the door open to reveal a hallway.

"A secret passage? You've got to be kidding me." Dean said as he came up next to Sam.

"Hey, I don't care how cliche it is, we're taking it. Let's go."

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He stood at the front door. It wouldn't budge. There was no way he was going to get in that way. But that was okay, he always had a back up plan. He was surprised to see them here. Of course, he shouldn't have been, he always knew where they were. But still, he hadn't checked on them in a couple of weeks, and to find them here at the same time was a shock. They needed help, but first, he had to get in.

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Dean and Sam gathered what strength they had left and slowly began to make their way down the stairs. The sun was starting to go down now and the hallway only had a few small windows and it was beginning to get hard to see. Both boys were hurting and finding it difficult to make the journey. They were low on ammo and had no flashlights. Sam was beginning to get nervous. God, I hope this isn't the job that finally takes us down, he thought bitterly. Unlike his brother, Sam wasn't hoping to go down in a blaze of glory, yet he didn't want to be taken out by some mental case ghost. He sighed. Had he done his research like he was supposed to, they would have been more prepared. But he didn't and they were caught off guard. And now they were paying the price for it.

Sam glanced behind him to his brother who was leaning heavily on the wall as he made his way down. He could see that Dean's leg were shaking and his breathing was rapidly increasing. Sam could only imagine what that shock had done to him. But then again, he didn't really want to. He remembered too well what happened the last time. And though it didn't seem as though this was as bad, it was still bad. Sam shook his head. Dean was trying to be strong, but Sam didn't think he could last much longer being on the move. He had tried to let his big brother lean on him, take some of his weight. But of course Dean being Dean, he was too worried about Sam and his injuries. He refused to touch Sam, worried he would hurt his back even more. Even though it went against his better judgement Sam stopped suddenly.

"Let's stop for a minute." He said to Dean.

"Dude, we need to keep moving. Big bad freak trying to kill us, trapped in here...any of this ring a bell? Stopping isn't the best option Sammy." He tried to hide it, but Dean was definitely out of breath. Still, it wasn't a good idea to stop.

"I know Dean...but..." Sam felt bad, but once again he was going to use Dean's overprotectiveness of him only to protect his brother in return. "I need to stop for a minute Dean. My back and head are killing me."

Sam saw the concern wash over Dean's face. He felt guilty, but his brother's health came first.

"One minute Sammy. That's all. Then we suck it up and move on. Got it?"

Sam nodded.

Dean was silently thankful that they stopped. He leaned against the wall and put his head back. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Regretting it the minute he did. As out of breath as he was, it only made everything hurt worse. At this point he could have stopped there for hours and just go to sleep, but he had to get Sam out. He figured with the hit to the head Sam took, he probably had a concussion, and even though Sam's jacket was covering it at the moment, Dean knew his back was probably looking pretty bad. Dean let a small smile play across his lips and inwardly laughed a laugh of pride. He knew that belt had to hurt like a son of a bitch, but his little brother never made a sound. He stood strong. Dean was proud of him. Of course, he never should have been in that situation in the first place, and Dean would never vocalize his affection, he still felt proud of Sam. Even though his little brother would deny it until he turned blue in the face, Sam was a great hunter. He was a natural. And Dean could never ask for a better partner.

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He found just what he was looking for. The little concoction he had made a few weeks ago was going to come in handy. Right now a stick of dynamite wouldn't open that house up, but this would. He smiled at his handy work. Time to get down to business.

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Sam took a deep breath, steadied himself, then pushed himself back up. His back was really starting to stiffen up now and his head was still throbbing, but they couldn't sit much longer. Who knew what else Mr. Wells had in store for them. Besides, they had already made it down one flight, they didn't have much further to go. He just prayed that there was an opening they could make it through waiting for them at the end. He looked at his brother. Dean's eyes were closed, but his breathing had evened out some. Lightly he touched Dean's shoulder.

"Ready?"

Dean nodded. "You okay?"
Sam smiled, "Don't start with the worry about Sammy game, okay. Let's just get the hell outta here."

After what felt like an eternity they finally reached the bottom floor. They both felt exhausted. As they entered into a small hallway they found themselves faced with three doors. There were no windows here and the darkness was beginning to overcome the hallway.

"So what now, eenie meenie miny moe?" Dean asked pointing to the doors.

"Let's give them all a try. One of them has to lead out." Sam started towards one of the doors and just as he reached for the knob that familiar bolt of light came again. He spun around quickly to find that Mr. Wells had positioned himself between the brothers. Suddenly the door behind Dean opened, and in the blink of an eye Dean found himself being lifted off his feet and going through the opening. The door slammed shut in front of him.

"Dean!" Sam screamed. He raised his gun to shoot but Mr. Wells had already disappeared. But Sam did hear his voice.

I told you boys you would be taught a lesson. You will not be free to leave until that lesson is learned and forgiveness is begged for.

Then all was quiet. Sam ran to the door his brother had disappeared behind, but of course, it wouldn't budge. He pounded his fists screaming Dean's name, but he got no response. The silence was deafening. He ran to the other two doors, but found that none of them would open either. In frustration he screamed and slammed his fist into the wall. Not knowing what else to do, and having no where else to go, he turned back to the stairs and headed up. He took the steps two at a time, ignoring the searing pain running through his body. His only thoughts were on his brother.

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He heard the scream. For a moment it caused him to stop cold. They were in trouble. He had assumed as much before, but now to have it confirmed, to the scream of agony, it made his heart clench. He gave himself a mental shake and forced himself to move faster. He needed to get in there, now!

-TBC-