Chapter 2

It was the early morning hours when Sam gasped for a breath and sat up in bed, trying to get his lungs working again. He looked to the sexy body lying beside him to be sure he hadn't disturbed her. She was still sleeping peacefully on her side, breathing evenly as he panted and sucked in long breaths as quietly as he could. He eased out of bed and walked to the kitchen of their small apartment to get something cold to drink.

He couldn't shake the dream that had disturbed his sleep. He saw his older brother, Dean, walking toward what looked like an abandoned house and going inside. The scene was blurry and hard to distinguish but he could make out Dean and that he was carrying a shotgun. The dream played out with him searching the bottom floor and heading upstairs where something happened, and he woke up tense and uneasy.

Sam pulled a water from the fridge and went to the bar to take a seat so he could sip it and think. He clenched his hand into a fist trying to stop it from shaking. He didn't understand why he would be dreaming about his brother since he hadn't seen him in nearly three years, ever since he had left his family to go to college. That was the hardest thing that he had ever done in his life, and he still grieved the loss of his family, especially his brother.

His mind wouldn't settle and pondered the dream for a moment, trying to dissect it. This was the second time he had dreamed similar dreams about Dean. The first only showed Dean in front of the abandoned house and going inside, but it didn't wake him from his sleep. He brushed it off as something from his subconscious dredging up memories of when he hunted with Dean and their father. He vaguely remembered it when he woke. This last one had a little more detail and lasted longer showing Dean going inside and an uneasiness and dread filled Sam's mind. He didn't see anything to warrant the emotions, but he wasn't one to ignore his gut feelings. They had saved them on more than one occasion when they hunted.

Sam slumped at the bar and sipped more of his water before deciding to go back to bed. He got up and walked quietly back to the bedroom and slipped between the sheets to settle on the mattress. His girlfriend sighed and cuddled into his side, sharing her warmth with his cool body.

Sam lay there with his eyes open staring up at the ceiling not sure he could go back to sleep. When he started to warm again, his eyelids drooped closed on their own and he drifted into a light doze. His mind was drawn back to his brother, and he saw him driving the Impala. He saw a road sign stating you were entering Nevada but a voice from far away pulled his mind away from the dream as he started waking.

"Sam, honey wake up," a female voice called to him as she shook his shoulder.

Sam jumped and almost took Jessica down before he stopped himself.

"You're going to be late for class," Jessica told him as she gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Thanks Jess. I'm going to grab a quick shower and will be out of here," Sam replied. He threw back the covers and sat on the side of the bed for a moment to wake up before heading for the bathroom. Once he had showered and dressed, Sam grabbed his pack and headed for classes still thinking about what he saw in his dreams.

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The library was filled with students studying, researching, or just hanging out when Sam made his way into the large room and headed for the computer lab. He took a seat at a computer, away from the others using the computers and signed on. Sam went to a search engine he used to use when he hunted and looked up any information on possible hunts in Nevada. He leaned forward as articles were pulled up and started to scan through them to see if there was anything that would be of interest to Dean as a possible case.

Sam pulled out a pad and started taking some notes when he found some news articles about missing teens in a small toe called Paradise, and sucked in a sharp breath when he saw the picture of the house, they supposedly went missing after going to the house. It was the one from his dreams that he thought he had just imagined.

Sam rubbed his temples when an ache started behind his eyes. He couldn't understand why he would be seeing all this in his dreams. Had he read something about this previously and it stuck in his mind for some reason? Was it different unrelated topics that he bunched together into one thought, mixing the like pieces of a puzzle and tried to fit them together into a picture?

He slumped in the chair with his eyes closed, still tired from a restless night of sleep as he tried to think. Sam's subconscious seemed to be working overtime as a few flashes of the dreams he had had played like a video in front of his eyes. The last scene showed the Impala hidden behind some overgrown shrubs near the same abandoned house but no sign of Dean. A loud noise made him jerk awake and look around frantically trying to remember where he was for a moment before it all came back.

He couldn't ignore the gut feelings he had, not when it concerned his brother. They had always had a deep bond and connection growing up and had used that when they hunted together. He wondered if that bond was trying to tell him something about Dean, that he might be in trouble.

The last thing he did was try to track Dean's cell to see if he could find him. Sam waited for the program to run but it couldn't find a location. He pinged the last location that it could find and saw it was near Paradise and guessed Dean had seen the articles too and was going to check it out to see if it was a possible case.

Sam packed his things and headed out of the library. He fumbled in his pack for his cell deciding to try and call Dean to ease his mind. He didn't know if he would even answer his call, but maybe he would. Sam found his cell and pulled his contacts up to scroll down to D. His finger hovered over the call button, unsure whether he should chance it or not. Finally, before he changed his mind, he pressed call and brought the cell to his ear, waiting for it to ring and hopefully to be answered.

The call went to voicemail and Sam hung up without leaving a message. He huffed and scrolled back through his contacts to another number that was Dean's and tried it only to get a message that the number had been disconnected. Sam frowned and had one more number that was an emergency number to use only if you were dying kind of thing. He listened to it ring several times before getting a message the mailbox was full and cut him off.

He tried the first number again, letting it ring and go to voicemail again. He hung up, not leaving one and tried to think of what else he could do to check that Dean was okay. There was another person who might know, and Sam thought it would be nice to hear his voice again. He felt bad at not calling him sooner.

As Sam walked back to the apartment, he made the call to the one person who might know about Dean. He dialed the number and waited as it ran.

"Singer Salvage," a gruff, older voice growled at him.

"Bobby, hey, it's Sam," Sam greeted him shyly.

"Sam, son, it's good to hear from you," Bobby replied, his voice warmer. "How are you doing? How is college?"

"I'm okay and college is great. Some of the classes are tough, but I'm surviving." Sam paused trying to think a way to bring Dean up without sounding worried or upset. "How's business going?"

Bobby didn't say anything at first because he could tell Sam wanted to ask him something but wouldn't come out and do it. He could hear something in Sam's voice that threw a red flag that something wasn't right. He was happy Sam had called but wondered why after all this time.

"Something on your mind Sam? I don't think you would have called just to shoot the breeze."

"Well, I was wondering…I thought you might know….Have you heard from Dean lately?"

"No, it's been a while since he came by. Why? What's going on with you son?"

"I tried calling him and only got his voicemail. I tried his other numbers and still couldn't get him."

"Maybe he's on a hunt and couldn't answer his cell or was out of cell range."

"I thought of that. I figured he would have answered or called me back and cussed me out for bothering him."

"What aren't you telling me son? Why would you need to talk to your brother? Did something happen with you? Are you in trouble?" Bobby questioned him.

"No! No, nothing like that," Sam insisted.

"What is it, Sam? Don't leave me in suspense while you sputter around."

"I had a bad dream about Dean, that he was in trouble," Sam finally confessed.

"We all have bad dreams son."

"But I've had this one, several times in the past couple of weeks. It's the same one each time, just a few more details in each one. I saw Dean driving into Nevada and decided to check it out and found some articles on missing kids. I know this sounds crazy, but something is telling Dean may be in trouble. I think Dean when to check it out. His cell pinged near the town but couldn't find a location for it. How about Dad? Is he with Dean? Do you know where he is?"

"No. Your Daddy went off on his damn revenge mission and left your brother alone. Dean has been hunting on his own for over a year and a half now. I tried to get him to team up with someone, but he wouldn't. He said it wouldn't be the same and could handle it alone."

"Oh," Sam answered stopping outside his apartment building to finish the call. He thought about what Bobby said and was upset Dean was hunting alone. "Bobby, I think something has happened to Dean. I just feel it in my gut. I can't stop this feeling of unease and fear."

"Do you want me to go check the town out?"

"No, I'm closer. I'm going to head that way and see if I can find him. I'll get someone to lend me a car and drive there today. It's less than four hours from me."

"You be careful Sam and call me if you need me."

"I will Bobby, and thanks. I'm sorry I haven't kept in touch."

"It's okay son. I should have called you to see how you were doing. That's on me."

"It's fine. I'll call if I run into any trouble. Bye Bobby."

"Bye Sam and be careful."

Sam made one more quick call to a friend who had a car to see if he could borrow it for a couple of days. He promised to be fill it with gas when he got back and would be careful. His friend was going to leave the keys under the mat on the driver's side for him, since he had to get to class. With that taken care of, he headed into the apartment building.

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Sam unlocked his apartment door and stepped inside, looking around to see if Jessica was home yet. He didn't see or hear her and figured she was doing a study group on campus. He went to their bedroom and packed an overnight bag before heading in the living room to leave her a note that he would be gone for a couple of days and not to worry about him. He headed outside to the parking lot and got into a friend's car he had borrowed to head to Nevada.

Traffic was picking up as he exited the town and headed north/east, falling in with the fast-moving vehicles. He settled down for the drive running through things in his head as tried to work out a plan. He still had weapons that he had hid from Jessica that he brought alone. Sam was going to get the location of this abandoned house and go there first, thinking that might be where he'd find Dean.

When Sam got to the outskirts of Paradise, he stopped to fill the car and questioned the cashier about the house. He got directions to it and headed that way as dusk was settling across the land. He was driving slowly trying to find the driveway for the house before it got any darker. He had to backtrack and finally saw the driveway in his headlights. He turned down it and slowly followed the winding driveway until the house came into view.

Sam knew Dean and stopped before getting to the house to look around for the Impala. He got out a flashlight and began to search the area until his light reflected off a shiny surface. He found the Impala parked back in the bushes, like in his dream, and looked toward the house wondering what had happened to his brother. He knew Dean would never leave the Impala abandoned like this. After giving it a once over, Sam armed himself and continued toward the house.

Sam let the light play across the house and didn't see anything out of place. He saw the police tape was down and knew that was probably Dean's doing. He opened the door and went in, pausing to listen for any foreign sounds but didn't detect anything. He didn't bother with the first floor and found the staircase to the second floor. When he stepped on the first step, it creaked, and wood began to splinter making him jump back before his foot went through the wood.

Being more careful, Sam hugged the wall and cautiously put his weight on each step. He stepped onto the second floor and let out the breath he was holding. He let his light shine down the landing seeing doors on the right. He walked down to the first door and shone the light inside. It was a large bedroom that looked like a master suite. He stepped into the room to look around and saw the clean spot in front of the fireplace. He light gleamed off something near the closet and he went over to check it out.

Sam picked up another flashlight and turned it in his hand seeing the black electrical tape at one end, along with the initials DW scratched into the end. This was Dean's flashlight. Sam quickly let the beam of his flashlight pan the room looking for any other signs of him. He didn't see anything and looked back to the closet as the hairs on his arms stood up, like there was static electricity in the air. Even being out of the hunting game for the past few years, Sam had not forgotten what he had been taught by his father and brother.

There was something not right inside the closet and Sam stayed back from it since he wasn't sure what it was. Whatever it was, he had a sinking feeling it had something to do with Dean's disappearance. He retreated from the room knowing he needed more information. Sam was going to see if he could hack the police data base and learn more about the missing kids hoping to find out why they were at this house in the first place and what they were doing there.

Sam remembered passing a 24-hour truck stop that had free Wi Fi he could use. He headed back down the stairs, being careful of the steps and out the front door. He went back to his car and got in to head to the truck stop. He hated to leave the Impala there but couldn't drive two cars and figured it was safe for now hidden in the bushes. He had an eerie feeling that time was not on his side, and he needed to find Dean before something happened. His brain was already on overdrive as he went over what he knew so far and hoped to be able to fill in the blanks once he got the reports and read them.


A/N: Sam's gut feelings was right, and his brother was in trouble. Can he solve the mystery and save his brother? Thank you for coming on this journey with me. Reviews/Comments would be great. NC