Chapter 5b

Dean gripped the steering wheel tightly as she drove into the night down the road to nowhere. She had passed the diner thirty miles back, but was not ready to stop just yet. She fought the fear that she felt in her heart that Sam was going to eventually leave again. She shook her head to try to clear her mind. She rolled down her windows and blasted her Metallica music. As she shouted the lyrics to 'Enter Sandman', she became angry. The song just did not sound the same in her now female voice. She pulled to the side of the road and turned the car off. She leaned her head against the steering wheel as she hit it with her hand. "Ow." She whimpered. She lay in that position for a time. "What am I going to do?" She spoke softly. The uncertainty of finding a reversal to her gender change, coupled with the reality that Sam would eventually leave was almost too much to bare. And Dean could not even face the fact that her father abandoned her as well. "What's wrong with me?" Her lips quivered as Dean allowed one tear to escape her sorrowful hazel eyes.

Eventually, Dean leaned up and took a deep, breath. "Come on, dude. Suck it up." She told herself. She started the Impala and turned the car around to head for the diner. About twenty miles outside of town, Dean heard a pop and then a hiss. "Shit..." She said as she felt the car tilt a bit. She pulled over and went to the trunk. She grabbed a flashlight and shined it on her left back tire. It was flat. Dean's jaw clenched as she looked up. "Damn it!" She yelled to the sky. She stomped back to the trunk and got out the jack, tools, and the spare tire. "This crap is heavy." She mumbled. As she set about changing the tire, a car stopped beside her. The window rolled down and Dean looked up. There was a couple in their late twenties in the vehicle.

"Hi. Do you need any help?" They asked kindly.

Dean shook her head. "No thanks. I've got it." She smiled at them.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I appreciate it, though."

"Alright. Take care." The couple drove off.

Dean continued with her work as a truck passed by on the opposite lane. She did not notice the vehicle drive past her and then turn around. Suddenly, she noticed bright fluorescent lights shining as she secured the spare tire. As she finished tightening the last lug nut, she heard foot steps. She was still on her knees, crouching in front of the tire. Without looking up, she said, "I'm okay. I don't need any help, thanks." When there was no answer, she turned her head up and was blinded by the brilliant glow coming from the truck. She shielded her eyes with her hand. She could barely make out a figure, when suddenly, the world went black.

Sam slowly opened his eyes as he lay on his bed. His arms stretched out as he regained consciousness. 'That was a nice cat nap.' He thought to himself. He sat up suddenly, when he realized how quiet it was. "God. I didn't realize I went to sleep." He looked around the room. "Dean?" He got up and went to the bathroom. Dean wasn't there. Sam glanced at the clock. The time read 1:00 am. Sam's heart sank. Dean had left at about 8:30pm. He hurried to his phone and dialed his brother's cell phone number. It went straight to voice mail. He closed his eyes as he heard Dean's male voice for the first time in 4 days. He waited for the beep. "Dean, it's Sam. Where are you? It's one o'clock in the morning. I hope this isn't a joke, man. You know I'm really hungry." Sam tried to sound sarcastic, but his voice was not convincing. "Just call me and let me know you're okay." He stared at his phone before hitting 'end'. Sam had a bad feeling. "Where are you, Dean?" He whispered.

Sam had called Dean's phone five times over the next thirty minutes, before deciding to go to look for his brother. He grabbed the spare keys and left the hotel room. He went to the front office and asked if he could get a taxicab service. The woman behind the counter smiled.

"This isn't LA, young man." The older woman answered. "We don't have cabs around here."

Sam was starting to lose it. "I need a way to get to the main town. Please." Maybe the look of desperation in his eyes swayed her. She turned around and went to the back office. There was a younger man there watching TV. They both looked at Sam before coming back out.

"My son will take you." She said.

Sam sighed in relief. "Thank you so much. I can pay you if you'd like."

"No, that's okay. It's only about ten miles up the road. Can I ask why you're in such a rush? Believe me, the bar in town ain't too good."

"My sister. She left to get some food a while ago, and she isn't back yet." Sam felt his eyes water.

"Oh, that pretty little thing you checked in with? I'm sure she's alright, young man."

"Yeah," Sam's mouth felt dry, "I hope you're right."

Sam was dropped off on Main Street in front of the bar. He had hoped to find Dean's car in the lot, but to no avail. He decided to try his luck anyway. Maybe she was shooting pool. He asked around the bar and no one had seen her. A few men made lewd remarks that they wish they had; Sam nearly popped them. He didn't have time to deal with those idiots.

By the time Sam left the bar, he was in full panic mode. He glanced at his watch and his heart sank further. 2:30 am. He ran his hand through his disheveled brown locks as he looked around the dimly lit street. "Okay...focus, Sam." He was practically panting as he spoke. He tried Dean's cell phone again, but still he got the voice mail. He started walking down Main street seeing if there were any other places he could search for her. He eventually found himself in front of the sheriff's department. He hated involving the cops. That was one of the first things their father taught them. But, he was desperate.

He walked into the station and up to a desk. A woman officer, she appeared to be in her early forties, sat there. "Can I help you?"

Sam had to find his voice. It wavered as he spoke. "Yeah. Um, my sister is missing and I need your help."

She opened up a pad and grabbed a pen. "Are you sure?" She asked as she stood and walked from behind the desk. "Can you tell me what happened?" Sam relayed the story to her. She jotted down a few notes. After she finished writing, she looked up. "What's her name?"

Sam thought for a moment for which identity they were using this week. "Dean. Dean Buckley."

"Her name is Dean?" She asked suspiciously.

"My parents thought she was going to be a boy." He forced a smile on his face, hoping to sound believeable.

"And your name is?"

"Sam."

"Same last name?" Sam nodded. She placed her notebook on the desk. "Well, Sam." She cleared her throat. "Usually we don't file missing person reports until said person has been unaccounted for a period of 24 to 48 hours."

"I understand that." Sam eyes watered again. "But, please. I know something is wrong. It's only the two of us and there is no way she would have stayed away this long unless something happened to her." He dropped his head for a moment. "I don't have the car. I have no way to go look for her. Please?" He pleaded with her.

Something in his eyes touched her. In her years on the force, she had seen the agony of losing loved ones. "Alright, Sam. My squad car is out back. By the way, I'm Officer Patterson." She paused. "But, you can call me Carol." They shook hands as they began to walk.

They passed the diner and Sam had run in and asked if they had seen Dean. No one fitting her description had eaten or ordered in the last eight hours. Sam had suggested driving the road out of town. He knew that sometimes Dean liked to go on a drive when he seemed upset about something. Sam tried to swallow the guilt he was feeling about how their conversation went before she took off. He wished he had not opened his mouth about Stanford. Sam knew Dean had been hurt when he left for school. He had hoped Dean would understand after all this time why he did it. But it seems, the subject was still a sore spot. Sam mentally berated himself for opening up old wounds.

They drove in silence down the two lane highway leading out of town. Sam kept dialing Dean's phone and still no pickup. He closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them, he saw something in the distance. He squinted his eyes to focus better as he leaned forward. "Carol...wait!" He said in a frantic tone. "Stop!" He practically stumbled out of the door. His heart constricted when he saw Dean's abandoned car.

Carol grabbed her flashlight as she shined light on the car. She looked inside. "The car keys are still in the ignition." She observed quietly as she continued to move the light around. At the base of the left back tire, she saw a wet spot. As she got closer, she realized what it was. She did not say anything, because Sam beat her to it.

"It's her blood, isn't it?" He said around the lump in her throat.

"Sam, let's not come to any conclusions yet." She tried to sound reassuring, but failed. She walked back briskly to her car and called for backup. Within thirty minutes, three officers from her department and four from a neighboring town had responded to the scene.

Sam paced nervously in the background while the officers congregated. He was growing impatient. "Fuck this." He mumbled as he grabbed a large flashlight and started walking towards the woods.

Carol shouted after him. "Where are you going, Sam?"

"I can't stand around here just waiting! She's out there hurt and we're doing nothing!" His nose flared in anger.

"These woods are dense, Sam. It'll be first light soon. We can start the search then."

He threw his hands in the air. "And until then? SOMEONE HAS HER! And I'm just supposed to what? Sit back and do nothing?"

"We don't know that yet, Sam. You need to calm down. We are going to do everything we can."

Sam looked out into the dense woods with a sense of dread. He knew they were right. He wouldn't do Dean any good if he got lost in an area he was not familiar with. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate to see if he could feel Dean. If she is in trouble, why hadn't he had a vision? It made no sense. He went back and sat in the police car. He looked down at his phone. Sam trembled as his fear continued to increase. He felt so alone. He slowly dialed a number. When he got his father's voice mail as always, he didn't leave a message. He lay his head back on the seat as tears rolled from his eyes.

TBC...