The Institute

Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from Supernatural nor do I profit in any way. I just write for the love of writing about the boys and hurting them on the odd occasion.

Warnings:

Rated for language, violence and torture.

NO Wincest or Slash involved in this or any of my stories.

Author's Note: This is not a supernatural story as such, though the demon may make an appearance later on.

Just one little other thing no agencies or agents were brainwashed, manipulated or tortured in anyway. :0)

CHAPTER 8 Please No More Healing

'Hey you ... subject twenty whatever ... Grace can you check on Sam's breathing please?' Dean called out to the young woman, 'move it sister.'

'He – he's breathing what's wrong with him?'

'He has visions,' Dean said simply, 'I thought that is why they have him here, how did you not know that?'

'I – I do but ... I have never seen anyone with a reaction like that ever before.' Grace stammered running her hand over Sam's forehead, 'he's burning up.'

'He should snap out of it in a minute, Grace do you know how these cells open?'

'There is a panel just to the right, it's a keypad lock, Sam's number is two, two, three.'

'How do you know Sam's?'

'I have watched the guards,' Grace admitted shyly, 'two, two – twenty-two is Sam's subject number and three is the classification of ability, three is the highest.'

'Easy to remember,' Dean muttered, 'maybe too easy, so your's is two, one, what?'

'Three.' Grace whispered. 'I am in the same category as Sam.'

'Dean?' Sam groaned and tried to roll away from Grace as she cradled his head on her lap. 'No Grace, no more healing.'

'I ... need to Sam.' she wept turning away from his piercing stare, 'but it's something more too, something I can't understand. But you give me strength Sam... maybe too much strength.'

'Look I would love to stay and chat with the two of you over this seemingly kinky discussion but we gotta get down to business. Sam what was in your vision?'

'A – a fire, a brawl here and then a fire breaks out ... so much pain ... smoke choking ...' Sam blinked and looked up at his big brother a look of confusion on his face, 'Dean what are you doing here?'

'Come to save your bacon, what else is there for me to do?'

'No Dean, you gotta get outta here, can you take Grace with you?'

'No Sam, I'm taking you with me don't even think about arguing with me over this Sam.'

'Dean no, listen to me I can hold them off while you get Grace to safety. They think that I am starting to comply with their tests and tortures. I can use that to buy you time, you have to get her to safety.'

'No, no Sam I am not going.' Grace said firmly anger blazing in her eyes, 'send me away and I will come back.'

'Why?'

'For one I am the only person who can stop them from killing us psychics and the other, like Dean I am not leaving you to their mercies. I have seen firsthand what they have done to you already. I'm not going anywhere.'

'What do I have to do to get the two of you to change your minds?'

'Nothing.' Grace and Dean replied together.

'Look Sammy, it's getting late if I don't get back to my quarters they're gonna come looking for me,' Dean said hesitating slightly when he saw the look in Sam's eyes, 'hey dude look at me, it's only for tonight, tomorrow we're getting you outta here okay.'

Sam nodded but still refused to completely believe in what Dean said, oh he knew that Dean would do everything possible to free him but, but it may not be enough this time.

Dean cupped his brother's face in his hands and forced him to meet his gaze, 'listen to me Sammy, I'm gonna get you and Grace out of here I promise you on Dad's ... journal!'

'Thanks Dean.' Sam whispered letting his brother help him up and over to the bed. 'So tired.' He whispered his eyes closing before his head hit the pillow. Dean stood watching Sam sleep for a few seconds before turning to Grace.

'Where do you want to sleep in here or in your own cell?'

'Here with Sam,' Grace admitted timidly, 'just in case he has another nightmare.'

'He's still having them in here?' Dean asked frowning.

'Yes, even with all of the drugs that they are pumping into his food ...' Grace's face paled as she realised just what she said.

'What medication?' Dean zeroed in on the one small statement. 'Grace come on this could mean life or death for Sam, what drugs are they giving him?'

'Not sure exactly what they are but ... it's in food and drink, makes him more ... pliable I guess. Less likely to fight back.'

'So the bastards are drugging him and then doing their so-called tests?'

'Yes, from what I can gather, the drugs precipitate the subject's compliance, weakening them enough to break them physically and then they use them again in reprogramming.'

'Grace ... you're more than just a healer aren't you,' Dean said glaring down at the young woman, 'who or what are you?'

Grace sighed, glanced over at the sleeping Sam and then back to his older brother, 'first up I am a touch empath, second my name is Grace ... the rest is that I am a reporter trying to do an expose on the institute. Only it seems that I am part of my own story ... ironic huh?'

'Yeah I guess, so what you pretending to be their pet healer or what?'

'Not pretending but ... Dean they have done things to me ... I wanted to scream and tell them the truth that the police were on their way anything - but I couldn't risk everyone's lives just because of me.' Grace felt the tears start to fall as she spoke, 'Christopher was a drug addict and I was addicted to him, when he died I decided to throw myself into my work, I had heard about the Institute and not long after I started to research it, they took me.'

'Just like Sam?'

'Yeah I think so,' Grace replied determined not to tell Dean just how much she has settled for, how much she sold her soul for.

'Look I have to get going before the shift changes, keep an eye on him please.' Dean said as he relocked the cell and stared down at Sam a carefully blank expression on his face, he didn't quite trust Grace, not yet.

After he rounded the corner, he slumped against the wall and punched it hard, relishing the pain flaring through his hand. If he didn't get both him and Sammy out of there, the institute will end up breaking both of them. One deliberately the other inadvertently but still very real.

Retracing his steps Dean followed the winding corridors back to the staff quarters, his inner hunter rising to the occasion even though his thoughts were scattered and not focused on the task-at-hand; his natural instincts kicking in and he made it back to his room relatively unscathed.

Sitting on the edge of his bed, Dean glanced up at the tiny camera aimed at him and gave it a big wave and smile before rolling onto his side and falling to sleep his back to the camera for the rest of the night. His silent tears witnessed by no one.

'Hunt you're with me today.' Summers barked out, interrupting Dean's breakfast. Staring up at the man, Dean sized him up quickly before answering with a soft okay, his brows drawn together worriedly, maybe they had worked out who he is and they don't want him back near Sam.

Dean swallowed the rest of his coffee and followed his new work-partner out of the cafeteria. 'So what's on today's agenda?'

'Once a month, the Doc has to go to the city, do the reports and stuff anyway there are no experiments or tests done on that day. It gives us a chance to clean up the subjects, clean their cells and everything else that needs to be done.'

'They only shower once a month?' Dean asked incredulously.

'Well, once a month they actually get time to have a proper shower, otherwise it is usually a quick scrub under the water, especially if they have ...'

'Have what?'

'Blood on them, they are not supposed to be returned to their cells if they have any freely bleeding injuries or blood on them. The cells are supposed to be sterile environments.'

'You said supposed to be does that mean?'

'Look kid, I like you so I'll tell you this for your own sake. A lot of the orderlies and guards are sadistic bastards; hell, I think that they recruited them to begin with because of that. Anyway their ideas of sterile environs leaves me cold, to say the least, they often leave the subjects bleeding on the floor of the cell and hose them down afterwards. I try to stop them but hey what can you do when you're just one person.' Summers said and then stopped the weight of his own words struck him, 'the new subject is a prime example.'

'Subject twenty-two? How come?'

'The big guys set him apart, says he's special not only with his psychic gifts but with the fact that he is a highly trained fighter and hunter. So they put the word out to give him the 'special treatment' which usually means beat the crap outta him whenever you can.'

'Shit! That happen a lot here?'

'Nope, just on the very odd occasion.'

'So what do we do first?' Dean asked his guilt ridden thoughts pushing that information away in the blame Dean for Sammy's pain file.

'Well speaking of subject twenty-two, we'll take him to the showers, I'll show you where they are, while you help him I'll get his cell fixed up and get the medic to treat his wounds.'

'How do you know that he still has wounds? The doc forced subject twenty-one into healing him.'

'Subject twenty-two won't let her do full healings.' Summers said admiringly, 'the kid's got some spunk that's for sure.'

Dean followed Summers as they neared Sam's cell, he worried about how his brother would react when they saw each other, not watching where he was working Dean nearly stumbled into Summer's back when they stopped outside the cells. 'Shit.' Summers exclaimed as he saw Sam's face covered with blood from a recent nose bleed, 'shit, shit fucking shit,' he ground out when he saw the trail of blood leaking from Sam's ear.

'Where's subject twenty-one?' Dean asked furiously, he had left the two of them safe in Sam's cell ready for sleep only a few hours ago.

'Hunt check the other cell for her,' Summers ordered as he crouched down next to Sam's bed to check the unconscious boy's vital signs. Dean remained standing transfixed with Sam's battered face but then he visibly shook himself and hurried to Grace's cell. The young woman lay on the floor face down and naked. One hand reached out in the direction of Sam's cell, her head twisted awkwardly her eyes open, fixed, and glassy. Her skin cold to the touch. 'Summers she's dead.' Dean heard himself call out but he did not register the fact that it was his voice. Stumbling he ran back to the other cell where he found his counterpart performing CPR on Sam.

'Dammit Summers I thought that they were supposed to be safe in the cells.' Dean yelled taking over the breaths for Summers while he concentrated on doing the compressions.

A loud alarm resounded throughout the compound; foot falls thundered down the hallway as the medics raced towards the emergency. Quickly they had Sam intubated and after a cursory examination they loaded him on the gurney and raced him towards the medical wing. Dean staying close with his brother while Summers stayed with Grace's body, having had experience dealing with deaths in the institute before.

TBC