Disclaimer: I still don't own Supernatural or its characters. I and am not making any money on this…I'm just having fun filling in the time until September!
Double Trouble
Chapter 12 – Hidden Clue
Dean sat at the kitchen table with the laptop in front of him. He had been reading the local news reports and had found a disturbing pattern. Over the past year there had been a number of deaths in the psychic community in Lawrence. As Dean compiled the list of those who had died, the pattern became apparent. To test his theory, he pulled out the phone book. "I knew it!" Dean said quietly to himself. The shape shifter had been targeting psychics by using the phone book. The last death was some guy named Lawrence and after Lawrence came Missouri.
Dean shuddered when he realized how close they had come to losing Missouri. All of the previous psychics had died of wounds from being tortured. If he hadn't gotten to Missouri, she would have met the same horrible fate. And now, Sam was being held by this monster! He had to figure out a way to find Sam and soon!
Standing up to refill his coffee cup, Dean stretched noticing it would be dawn soon. He had checked in on Missouri a few times and was glad that she apparently was getting some much needed rest. He figured he would let her sleep until morning; then he would get some food into her and assess the situation. He knew that Missouri would be coming with him…he had seen it in her eyes last night. But if she wasn't up to the trip, he would call one of his father's friends to come and look after her.
Suddenly a memory surfaced; he remembered the white van that almost hit him when he came back to Missouri's house. "Damn it!" Dean said to no one in particular. He should have been out looking for the van…he bet Sammy had been in the vehicle and he had missed it. Grabbing his coat and keys, he stepped into the parlor to wake Missouri.
"Hey, Missouri?" Dean knelt down, gently placing his hand on the woman's arm.
Missouri opened her eyes and smiled as she saw the worried look on Dean's face. "Morning sunshine…is it time to go?"
"Not for you, I just wanted to let you know I was going to run out and check on something…I don't like leaving you here alone, but it will only be for a short time. If I leave a gun with you, do you think you could use it?"
Missouri rolled her eyes as she looked at Dean. "Boy, I swear you think I'm made of spun glass…I've been around hunter types most of my life and believe me, I know how to shoot if I have to. Now you just leave me that gun and go follow your lead…I'll be just fine!" Missouri made a shooing motion with her hands as Dean laughed and placed the gun on the table.
"I'm going to see if I can find a white van…I don't know why I didn't think about it sooner…I should have known it didn't belong on your street." Dean started to explain.
"Dean honey, don't start blaming yourself. We don't even know if Sam was in that van, and even if he was, it's likely that you wouldn't have been able to stop it in time any way. You didn't know everything at that time. So cut yourself some slack…boy if I was feeling a little stronger, I'd slap you for what you are starting to think!"
Dean looked sharply at Missouri, wondering how much she could read. "Ah Missouri, are you…are you able to… you know?" Dean wasn't sure how to ask what he needed to know.
Missouri smiled and winked. "Dean, I'm back to normal…it doesn't take psychic abilities to realize that you will blame yourself for not being able to prevent this from happening…now get on out and follow your hunch before I find the strength to woop your bottom!"
"Ok, but if anything funny happens, or if you get any funny feelings, you call me ok?" Dean watched Missouri nod as he turned to leave.
Dean spotted the van a few moments after leaving Missouri's house. It was parked in the motel parking lot on the edge of town. He quickly parked by the van and approached it, knowing already that the vehicle had been ditched. Dean opened the back of the van and frowned when he saw the stain on the floor. "Damn it Sammy…you're hurt!" From the amount of blood, Dean was worried about Sam's loss of blood. If the bastard didn't do something, his brother could bleed to death before he could get to him. Slamming his fist on the door panel, Dean quickly moved towards the driver's door.
He did a thorough search that unfortunately didn't give him any clues at to where the shape shifter would have gone. The van was registered to his last victim, so Dean assumed that most of the junk in the van belonged to the previous owner. "Wait a moment…what do we have here?" Dean said to himself as he pulled out a piece of paper that was stuck under the floor mat. The only thing out of the ordinary was a gas receipt from a town in Nebraska…all the other receipts were from local places. Pocketing the receipt just in case, he headed back to his car.
oooooooooo
The shape shifter had been driving most of the night, but he needed to stop while the dark could still hide his activities. Pulling aside on a deserted piece of highway, he jumped out of the cab of the truck and went back to check on his prize. He untied the tarp and smiled as he saw that Sam was still unconscious. Pulling the unconscious man towards him, he noticed that the bleeding from his shoulder and side had stopped for now. But the bouncing in the back of the truck had added to the bruises on Sam's body.
"You won't be so cocky now will you?" The shape shifter sneered as he pulled the half frozen form of Sam from the truck bed. "Fortunately for you, I need to keep you alive for a little while longer…at least until I get set up in a new town." Sam never opened his eyes, a slight blue tinge around his lips indicated that he may be slightly hypothermic. The shape shifter grabbed the young hunter and carried him to the passenger side of the truck.
"I'll be taking back roads from now on, so I don't think we need to worry about being spotted. You'll warm up in here and just in case you decide to wake up, these should keep you from doing anything foolish." The shape shifter pulled a pair of handcuffs from his pocket and quickly cuffed Sam's hands behind his back. He then pulled out a piece of rope and quickly tied Sam's ankles together. As an after thought, he placed the seat belt around the unconscious form. "We need to keep you nice and safe…for now anyway!"
Smiling at his handiwork, the shape shifter got back into the truck and headed down the highway. "Don't worry Sammy, in a couple of hours, you'll be in your new home…I hope you like it!"
ooooooooo
Missouri rose from the sofa, grimacing at her aches and pains. "I swear, I'm getting to old for this crap!" Moving carefully towards her bedroom, she took a quick shower and changed. Feeling a little better, she headed down to the kitchen. She knew that Dean would be back shortly and she also knew he would be in a hurry to leave.
Sitting down at the table with another cup of tea, Missouri closed her eyes and reached out towards Sam. Since they had connected before, she was sure that she would be able to reach the young man. With luck, maybe she could avoid making contact with the shape shifter.
"Sam, it's Missouri honey…I know you're scared. I just wanted to let you know that Dean and I are coming to get you."
"Missouri? So cold…it's so cold…but I'm still trying…he hasn't been able to break in yet…just so tired…"
"I know Sam honey, but you gotta hold on for us…just conserve your energy and keep blocking that bastard as long as you can. Do you know where you are?"
"No, can't see…but felt like…like Dad's truck…Dad is gonna be mad at me…failed again, always getting in trouble…"
Missouri could feel the young man weakening…he was losing his battle to stay aware. "Sam, listen to me…you can't go into the darkness yet…Dean needs you…do you hear me…you need to fight to save Dean!"
"Dean…yes, must save Dean…hurry…so ccolddd…"
Missouri opened her eyes, wiping the sweat from her forehead. The contact had been brief and it had taken a lot out of her, but at least she knew he was alive. She turned her head and smiled at the figure standing in the doorway. "It's ok Dean, he's alive."
TBC