Ok so I'm sorry it always takes me so long to update, but I had a bunch of tests this week, blah blah insert usual school excuse here. I just want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I'm glad you guys liked it and now here is part one of All Hell Breaks Loose!
After the run in with the Djinn, they kept their heads down for a few weeks. Dean wanted to make sure Aubri had recovered completely from what the doctor had said was an upper respiratory infection and Aubri wanted to make sure Dean was ok after his run in with the genie, but neither one of them would admit that that was why they had stayed at Bobby's longer than usual. Sam couldn't help but be amused, watching the two of them dance around each other, trying desperately not to let the other know how worried they really were about them. He knew his brother well enough to see that he liked this girl, but he also knew him well enough that Dean wouldn't admit those feelings until the last possible second. It was nice though, Dean having someone else to worry about to take the focus off of him.
While they had been at Bobby's, Sam and Aubri had had helped Bobby out with research and answering questions for other hunters who called in for help, while Dean worked on the Impala, tuning the engine up and making sure everything was in working order under the watchful eye of the ever present Folsom who seemed constantly attached to either Dean or Aubri. Sam, Aubri, and Bobby poured over book after book, trying to find a way to get Aubri home, coming up empty handed every time. Whenever they tried to get Dean to help, he would scoff and mumble something about having better things to do before walking off. Sure, research had never been Dean's favorite part of the job, but for some reason he seemed extremely opposed to doing any sort of research that would lead to Aubri getting back home.
After about two weeks of coming up empty handed in the research department, they all had started to get a little stir crazy. "So I think it's time we head back out for a hunt, don't you guys?" Aubri said, looking at Sam and Dean over the pizza box that was between the three of them. "I'm feeling a lot better now, healthy as a horse, and we aren't really doing anything except finding every way to not get me back home, so we might as well head out and do some good."
Sam and Dean looked at each other briefly before Dean gave an almost imperceptible nod. Dean took a quick swig of his beer and set it down, "That sounds awesome. I was about to lose it, being cooped up for so long. I was gonna say something, but Sam here was worried that you wouldn't be up to a hunt after being sick." That was a complete lie. Dean had been the one pushing staying behind a little longer just to make sure Aubri was completely better from being sick. He couldn't get her dying in that dream world out of his mind and he would do anything to prevent that from happening here.
Aubri nodded, "Folsom's coming with us this time ok. I hate just dumping him on Bobby all the time and I miss having him around." She smiled down at the big dog that was lying at her feet. "That's ok right?"
"You know I don't mind having him around sweetheart." Bobby said gruffly as he walked into the room and crossed to the fridge.
"I know," Aubri said smiling at Bobby, "I just miss him. So he's coming, right Dean?"
"Yeah, I guess it's cool if the drool machine comes along this time. I know you'll just be a pain in the ass if I say no." Dean said, smiling into his beer.
"You got that right sweetheart." Aubri said with a nod, reaching down to pat Folsom's head.
"So do you have something for us Bobby?" Sam asked, looking back at the old man.
Bobby was quiet for a minute, going over a list of possible cases in his head. "Yeah I think I got something, hang on just a second." He left the room and then quickly returned, a yellow folder in his hand. He tossed the folder onto the table in front of Dean, "You think you can handle this?"
Dean looked through the folder quickly and then passed it to Sam, "Yeah we got this Bobby." Dean said as Sam nodded while he flipped through the papers. "We'll leave tomorrow as soon I finish tightening up a few things in the engine."
A wide smile spread across Aubri's face and her heart rate raced with excitement. "Sounds great!" She said enthusiastically, excited to finally be getting out on the road again and doing something. Despite the smile and thrill of excitement though, she couldn't quite push down the little feeling that something bad was coming.
~TFS~
They left Bobby's the next day just as planned and had been driving for about five hours when Dean and Sam agreed it was time to stop and get something to eat. They stopped at a little piece of crap diner with a sign that said "Café" in big letters on top of it. As soon as the car came to a stop, Aubri opened her door and let Folsom out so he could run over to the bushes and do his business. She stretched her legs out, enjoying having some room with Folsom out of the car, and she listened to Dean tell Sam what he wanted to eat. "And don't forget the extra onion rings." He added, handing Sam a $20.
"Dude, we have to ride in the car with your extra onions. I don't know if I can take that combined with Folsom's dog breath and random gas leaks." Sam complained, taking the cash from Dean.
"Hey, Folsom isn't that bad." Aubri protested, "And can you make sure they don't put any onions or pickles on my burger, just cheese and lettuce pretty please."
"Sure thing." Sam said climbing out of the car.
"Hey see if they've got any pie." Dean asked, leaning over so Sam could hear him better. When Sam rolled his eyes and shut the door, Dean yelled, "Bring me some pie!" He turned up the radio, muttering to himself, "Love me some pie."
Aubri smiled and when she saw Folsom trotting back towards the car she sat up and opened to door for him. The big dog hopped into the car, giving Aubri's face a lick before settling down on the seat. Aubri and Dean sat in silence for a few minutes, just listening to the music, when suddenly Folsom sat up quickly and a low growl rumbled in his throat. Dean jumped slightly, startled by the menacing sound, "What's his problem?" He asked, turning around in his seat.
Aubri looked at her dog with concern, "I don't know, he usually doesn't do this." She placed a hand on the big dog's back, "What's wrong bud? Don't like Dean's taste in music?"
Folsom's eyes stayed glued to the diner in front of them, low growl still rumbling on. Then the radio began to cut in and out. Dean fiddled with the dials, trying to get it to stop, and Aubri followed Folsom's line of vision to the diner. The little building that had just a second ago had multiple people in it was now empty as a ghost town. "Dean." Aubri said quietly, fear seeping into her voice.
"What is it?" He asked, turning to look at her. When all she did was nod her head in the direction of the diner, Dean too turned to look. When he saw the empty windows he quickly opened his door and climbed out, pulling his gun out at the same time. Aubri started to follow, climbing out of the Impala quickly, when Dean whirled around and pointed at her, "You stay here."
"But…"
He cut her off, "Aubs, stay here." He commanded before running towards the diner, he couldn't go in there to find Sam and be worrying about her at the same time. He needed her to stay behind where it was relatively safe. When he got inside the first thing he saw was a man sitting slumped over in one of the booths with blood pooled around him on the table top. "Sam?" He called out, taking a closer look at the man's body before walking around and looking behind the counter, only to find two more bodies, both with their throats slit. Walking to the very back he opened the back door and looked out into the rain that was falling. "Sam?" When there was no answer he pulled the door shut, only to have a powdery residue come away on his hand. "Sulfur." Then he heard the door open. Raising his gun he quickly stepped out into the main part of the diner to find Aubri standing in the doorway with her hand over her mouth, eyes locked on the dead man in the booth. "Damn it Aubs I told you to wait in the car." Dean said as he hurried over to her and grabbed her arm, dragging her outside.
Aubri looked up at Dean, eyes wide and filling with tears, "Sam's not, he's not?"
"No." Dean answered quickly, "Sam's not dead."
Aubri watched as Dean walked around, calling Sam's name as if at any moment he would pop out from behind a tree laughing. A tear escaped and she flinched as Dean called out for Sam one last time. She walked over to him quickly and placed her hand gently on his arm, "If Sam isn't dead then where is he?" she asked as she led him over to the car.
Dean was quiet as he and Aubri both climbed into the Impala where a whining Folsom was waiting. Then he spoke as he looked straight ahead out the windshield, jaw working as he tried to keep his emotions under control, "I don't know, but I'm going to find him."
~TFS~
After Dean called Bobby they drove in silence. Dean was deep in thought, and Aubri could tell he was angry, worried, and most likely didn't want to talk to her, but after about an hour of quiet, Aubri slowly turned to look at Dean. She could see his jaw clenching and unclenching as he stared intently ahead. Taking a deep breath she reached out and gently put her hand on his arm. "We're gonna find him Dean. It'll be ok." She said quietly.
Dean turned briefly and looked at her. The sincerity in her eyes almost warmed his heart, almost gave him hope, but he knew better. He knew that good things didn't happen to him and his brother, that just wasn't their lot in life. The best thing that had happened recently was Aubri showing up and making a new friend who had been ripped from her world and was trapped in theirs wasn't necessarily a good thing, but their standards for happy moments were pretty low. So all he could really do as he turned his focus back to the road was give her a terse nod.
They drove until they met Bobby, pulling over on the side of the road with their cars facing each other. Folsom hopped out of the car as soon as Aubri opened the door for him, bounding over to Bobby and giving him a lick on the hand before going off to do his business. Bobby laid a map out on the hood of the Impala and Dean rushed over to look at what he had. Aubri watch Folsom trotting through the grass and then turned to look around Dean at the map as Bobby spoke, "This is it, all demonic signs and omens over the past month." Bobby said, waving his hand over the map.
"Are you joking? There's nothing here." Dean said, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice as he looked at the older man.
Aubri stared intently at the map, hoping maybe something would make sense out of all this. Dean hadn't explained anything to her in the car other than they were going to see what Bobby knew. From what she could piece together, Sam was gone and Dean thought a demon had done it. She looked at Dean worriedly as he spoke again, "Come on there's gotta be something, what about low level things, exorcisms that sort of thing?"
"That's what I'm telling you, there's nothing, it's completely quiet." Bobby explained.
"Then how are we supposed to find Sam?" Dean asked angrily, "Close our eyes and point?"
Aubri reached out and put her hand on Dean's forearm. She knew it wouldn't do anything, but she didn't want him mad at Bobby. Bobby was here to help and so was she. They would find Sam. Together. As she stared at the map, a thought struck her, "Calm before the storm." She muttered under her breath.
"What?" Dean asked tersely. Folsom padded up and sat at his feet, whining as he leaned against his legs.
"It's like they are laying low. You know, how when someone is planning something they get all quiet right before so they don't seem suspicious, when all that really does is look suspicious."
"Makes sense." Bobby said nodding, "But that still won't help us find Sam."
"Yeah I know." Aubri said dejectedly as she turned away from the map, "We should be careful though. Something's about to happen."
Dean opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off when his phone rang. "Ash, what do you got?"
Aubri watched Dean's face intently as he talked to Ash. When he hung up, she stood up straight, "What did he say."
Dean didn't look at her; he only crossed quickly over to the driver's side of the Impala. "We're going to the roadhouse, get in."
Once they were out on the road, Aubri spoke up again, nervous about how Dean would react, she patted Folsom's big head for reassurance. "So Ash found something?" she asked hesitantly.
"Yeah," he said, nodding, "he didn't say what. Seemed important though."
"Good." Aubri said. Leaning forward, she put her head between Dean and Bobby's, "We'll find him. I know we will." She said, a lot more confidently than she had before. She saw Bobby give her a tense smile and her confidence wavered momentarily as she settled back against the seat.
The rest of the ride to the roadhouse was quiet and just as Aubri was about to doze off she heard Dean mutter, "What the hell?" as he pulled off of the main road. She sat up quickly and what she saw before her made her gasp. What must have been the roadhouse at one point was now a burnt ruin. Dean slowly pulled the car to a stop in front of the rubble and he and Bobby climbed out. When Aubri started to open her door to follow, Dean put a hand on it, keeping it shut. "Stay in the car Aubs." He commanded before walking towards the smoking remains of the roadhouse.
"Like hell I will." Aubri muttered under her breath. She opened the door quietly and climbed out. "Stay in the car Folsom." She said when the big dog tried to follow her. After quietly shutting the door, she walked carefully over to the rubble. "Oh my God." She whispered, wrapping her arms around herself as she watched Dean and Bobby walk through the wreckage.
"Do you see Ellen?" She heard Dean ask Bobby loudly. Her heart sank at the realization that there had been people in here when this had happened, people who were now dead.
"No, no Ash either." Bobby said as he continued to walk around.
Aubri slowly picked her way through the rubble, making her way over to Dean, when he bent over to look at something. "Oh Ash, damnit!" Dean said as he stood up.
Aubri froze when she saw the burnt remains of an arm on the ground before Dean. She covered her mouth with her hand as she slowly backed away. Her foot caught on a charred board that was behind her and she started to fall backwards. Dean's hand snaked out and caught her wrist, keeping her from completely falling over. "Do you ever listen?" He asked exasperatedly as he made his way back to the car.
"Rarely." She admitted quietly, wishing that she had listened this time.
They all stood around the car and Dean could feel his anger rising. "What the hell did Ash know?" He dragged his hand down his face, trying to keep it together. "We've got no way of knowing where Ellen is, or if she's even alive. We've got no clue what Ash was going to tell us, now how the hell are we going to find Sam?"
"We'll find him." Bobby said reassuringly as Aubri walked over to stand next to Dean.
Just before she got to him he brought his hand to his head and winced. "Dean?" she asked worriedly, stopping in her tracks. He looked up briefly before wincing again and grabbing his head, groaning in pain. "Dean!" Aubri rushed over to his side, putting a hand on his shoulder as he rode out whatever was happening. When whatever had happened was over, Aubri pulled on his jacket to make him face her, "Are you ok?" She asked, blue eyes full of worry as she looked up at him, still clinging to the sleeves of his jacket.
"What the hell was that?" Bobby asked as Dean's eyes finally settled on Aubri's face.
"Uhh, headache?" He said unsurely, looking from Aubri to Bobby.
"You get headaches like that a lot?" Bobby asked.
"No, must be the stress." He said with a pained chuckle. He looked down at Aubri's hands, still clutching to the sleeves of his jacket. "I'm fine Aubs," he said looking down at her with a faint smile, "you can let go of me now."
Aubri looked at her hands and then quickly let go of his sleeves, backing away slightly, "Sorry." She blushed as she apologized. "You sure you're ok?"
"Yeah," he rubbed his forehead, "I swear I could of seen something though."
"Like a vision?" Bobby asked, "Like what Sam gets?"
"Visions?" Aubri asked incredulously, looking back and forth between Bobby and Dean.
Dean ignored her, "What? No, come on, I'm not some psychic."
"I was just sayin'." Bobby said defensively.
Before Dean could say anything else he crumpled forward onto the hood of the Impala as another crippling headache it him and he saw the bell he had seen before, then a flash of Sam's face. "Dean!?" Aubri was by his side in a second, small cool hand on the back of his neck. "Dean are you ok?"
When he looked up he saw Aubri's face, brow furrowed and blue eye full of worry, and Bobby hovering right behind her, looking just as concerned as she was. "I saw Sam, I saw him." He managed to rasp out as he took deep breaths.
"So it was a vision." Bobby said.
"Yeah, I don't know how, but yeah. Whew, that was about as fun as getting kicked in the jewels." He said, directing a faint smile at Aubri who still looked extremely concerned. He felt a sense of satisfaction when the corners of her mouth ghosted upwards slightly.
"What else did you see?"
"Uhh, there was a bell."
"What kind of bell?"
"It was a, a big bell with some kind of engraving on it." Dean explained.
Bobby thought for a second, "An engraving… Was it a tree, like an Oak tree?"
Dean looked up at Bobby slowly, "Yeah, exactly."
"I know where Sam is."
At that Aubri straightened up, "That's great! Let's go." Bobby walked around the car and climbed into the passenger side, but when Dean started to open his door Aubri stopped him. She grabbed his chin, forcing him to look her in the eye, "You sure you're ok Winchester?"
Dean couldn't help but smile at the threatening glint in her eyes as he looked down at her, "Yeah I'm good Aubs." He said, reaching out and ruffling her hair gently before pushing her towards the back door of the Impala. "Get in; we've got places to be."
Aubri rolled her eyes, but quickly climbed into the backseat of car, wrapping her arms around Folsom's neck when she sat down next to him, "We're going to get Sam back bud." She said excitedly into his fur. The big dog gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek and she giggle quietly, feeling so much better now that they knew where Sam was, despite the niggling feeling of dread she could feel in the pit of her stomach. Sure they knew where he was, but who knew what they would find when they got there. "So is someone going to explain to me about these visions you keep talking about?" She asked, leaning forward so her head was between Dean's and Bobby's. "I mean I know you said something once about Sam being psychic, but I thought you were just joking."
"Sam gets these visions sometimes. We're pretty sure it has to do with the Yellow-eyed Demon that killed our mom when Sam was a baby." Dean explained. "There's also a bunch of other kids like him, they all have different kinds of powers and they are all Sam's age, but we don't know what Yellow-eyes wants with them."
"Well it looks like we are about to find out." Aubri said as she settled back in her seat.
Dean nodded in agreement as he kept his focus on the road. He was getting his brother back, no matter what the cost would be.
~TFS~
After driving for hours they finally reached the town where Yellow-eyes had taken Sam. At least, they had finally reached the outskirts of the town. Dean pulled the Impala to a stop in front of a rickety looking old fence and cut off the engine. He looked at Bobby and then turned to look at Aubri who was sound asleep in the backseat. "We should just leave her here right Bobby?"
Bobby snorted, "And have her wake up and try to track us through the middle of nowhere?" He shook his head, "When are you gonna learn, that girl is better off sticking with you than she is having you treat her like a doll that has to be left behind. She's about as stubborn as you are, almost as hard-headed too. There's no point in tellin' her to stay behind."
Dean sighed, knowing Bobby was right. He just didn't want anything to happen to her. He climbed out of the car and quietly opened the back door. Bending over slightly, he reached out and put his hand on her arm, gently shaking her awake. "Come on Aubs, we've gotta get moving."
Aubri jerked awake and looked around, dazed, for a moment. "Did we find Sam?" She asked, eyes settling on Dean.
He shook his head, "Not yet, but he's gotta be nearby and we've got to get going if we're going to find him. The rest of the way is on foot." She nodded and slowly climbed out of the backseat, stretching her arms above her head, causing her shirt to ride up a little and exposing some of her stomach. Dean swallowed roughly as he tore his eyes away from that bit of exposed skin; there were more important things to focus on right now. "Come on, let's get you a gun." He said roughly, walking around to the back of the Impala and opening of the trunk. Aubri followed behind him, patting her thigh to signal Folsom to follow her. She waited patiently as Dean dug around and then handed her a sawed-off, "Think you can handle this sweetheart?"
Aubri rolled her eyes at him as she took the gun, "Let's get going." She said, walking in the direction that she assumed was towards the town, Folsom walking close by her side. When she heard a snapping twig in the distance, she pulled back until she was walking close by Dean's side. "How far do you think it is?" She asked quietly.
"It's gotta be close." He said, keeping his eyes ahead. He was listening intently for any sign of Sam, hoping they would find him in time. They kept walking until they could see what looked like the beginnings of the town in front of them. Hoping they were close enough, Dean called out, "SAM!"
When they rounded a corner Aubri spotted him, "Sam!" Relief washed over her despite the fact that she could see him holding his arm like he was hurt and that there was another person lying on the ground behind him.
"Sam!" Dean said, he had never been more relieved to see his brother.
"Dean!" A smile washed over Sam's face as he walked towards his brother.
Then Dean saw the guy who had been lying on the ground get up and grab something, "Sam look out!" He yelled as the guy rushed forward and stabbed Sam in the back. "NO!"
As Dean and Bobby broke into a run, Aubri stopped dead in her tracks. Folsom took off with Bobby, barking his head off and running after the guy who had just stabbed Sam and Dean ran too his brother, catching him as he fell to his knees, but Aubri stayed where she was, shocked by what she had just seen. "No." She whispered, shaking her head slightly as tears welled up in her eyes as she watched Dean holding on to his brother desperately.
"No, Sam, Sam hey I've got you." She could hear Dean saying. "Look, it's not even that bad, it's not that bad," he reassured as he tried to get Sam to look at him. "Sam, Sammy, hey listen to me, we're gonna patch you up you'll be good as new, huh?" Aubri could tell what Dean was saying wasn't true by the way Sam couldn't even hold his head up. Tears flowed freely down her face and she covered her mouth with her hand as she watched the two brothers. "I'm gonna take care of you, I'm gonna take care of you, that's my job. Watch after my pain in the ass little brother." When Sam closed his eyes dean became frantic, "Sam, Sam, Sammy! No, no, no, no," he begged as he pulled Sam close, "Oh God," he muttered, not wanting to believe what was happening. This couldn't be happening. "SAM!" He yelled one last time, pleading with his baby brother to not be dead.
Pardon me just crying over here. I forgot how painful that last scene is to watch. Anyways I hope you guys enjoyed even though it wasn't a particularly exciting chapter. In the next chapter there is going to be some good stuff along with the sad stuff though. Some good stuff that may include Dean, Aubri, and a wall. I'll let you think that over. As always review at will, but if I can get 10 reviews on this chapter I will guarantee an update by next Saturday!