Warning: Violence.

Chapter 14: Nearly there

When Sam woke, he knew immediately that he wasn't alone. Lying as he was, on a cold hard floor, in an incredibly cold cell, he knew that much for sure, just as he knew that it wasn't Anya sharing a cell with him.

He rolled over and got to his feet quickly, hands up and ready to defend whatever against whatever it was that was in the cell with him.

The demon smirked as it rose from its squat near the door. "You must be one in a million, Sam," it told him. "I don't think there's many who would be strong enough to stand, let alone fight, not after what I did to you. But then, that's what they say about you Winchesters. Stubborn enough to crawl out of Hell."

Sam dropped his hands, knowing they were pointless against the hell spawn. "I feel fine," the hunter informed it. "Wanna see?"

The demon's grin deepened until it was nearly an amused sneer. "You see, Sam, that's the thing. I bet you only feel a little tired, right?"

Sam took a moment to nod, not sure what the demon was getting at, and realizing he didn't want to know when it chuckled.

"Don't you feel the bullet in your shoulder? You're infected shoulder, too, by the way." Sam glanced down quickly, peeling back the shirt to find the demon was telling the truth as heat and stink met his nose, coming from the inflamed body part. He glanced back at the demon.

"What did you do to me?" he demanded.

The demon ignored him. "And then of course, there's the concussion you don't feel, the broken ribs… hell, I nearly tore your heart out and you're not even noticing the flutters as it's failing to settle back in."

Sam felt his face drain of colour, but refused to be cowed. "Screw you!" he spat. "You know what, it doesn't even matter. Whatever you did to me will go away the instant I rip that necklace from your neck."

It was the demon's turn to go white, a hand going to its chest where the pendent lay, and all Sam's doubts fled. He knew now, without no uncertainty, and he grinned at the pleasure.

"You know, I was wondering how you got the hellhounds to do your dirty work. I mean, they're not mercenaries, they take whoever made a deal at the appointed time. They don't back off just because you want them to."

The demon was in his face in a second, grabbing onto his shirt and shoving him back into the wall. Sam winced, but felt a shake of horror when he didn't feel any pain. What was the demon doing to him?

He didn't let his fear take hold though. Keeping that triumphant snarl on his face, Sam continued. "So, how did you bind them? Obviously it has something to do with that necklace. And I bet they're just like daevas… demonic pitbulls, that's how Dean described those particular nasties. And like a bound reaper, too, I bet. As soon as you lose that necklace, they'll be after you like chow."

The demon shoved him into the wall again, and he cut off, wincing. But he glared back up at the demon and shook his head. "Even by demon standards, you're despicable," Sam spat. "And those hellhounds are going to tear you apart like the gutless, selfish bastard you are. Traitorous to your own kind," he ended in a knowing whisper.

The demon leaned back, angry. Sam stared into its eyes, refusing to look away. It shook its head.

"I'd be careful what you say there, Sammy," it whispered after a moment. "Cause you're awful close to calling the kettle black."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" He chuckled. "I have given my entire life to hunting down bitches like you, to help my kind. I've faced countless evil bastards. I've faced my fears. And won."

This time the demon chuckled. "You misunderstand me. Besides, you haven't faced all of them… your big buddy, your demon pal…" Sam's grin slipped slightly. "It told, you didn't it… that it had plans for you."

Sam shoved the demon away and it laughed. "Oh come on, even if it hadn't, you should have made the connection. You should have known, after it told you that Mummy and Jessica got in its way to you. And admitting that is your biggest fear, isn't it Sam?"

The hunter refused to answer, a sick light entering his eyes. The demon laughed again, clearly enjoying the torment.

"You see, you may know how to destroy me, Sam, but I know everything about you, everything. From the shit up here." It poked Sam's head, and the hunter refused to even flinch. "To what the demon plans for you in here…" It trailed off, poking over Sam's heart and causing him to shudder as an icy tendril seemed to creep through him. Then it grinned. "But I guess that last secret died with your father."

Sam's jaw dropped. "What the hell are you talking about?"

The demon's grin widened. "Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise. But there are so many of us out there who would love to own you, Sam. And not all of them want revenge. See you tomorrow night."

It turned and walked away, leaving Sam gaping as the door swung open. Too late he broke out of his shock, racing forward, trying to beat the door as it inched closed. He ran into it as the echoing thud all but shook the cell. Slamming his fists into the door, Sam screamed with frustration, his anger at everything that had happened coming out in one fist-bruising hit.

"Tell me!" he cried out, hoping someone outside would hear him. Hoping the demon would hear him. "Tell me what it wants!"

But all he got for an answer was silence, hopelessness and mindless shivers as he slid down the door. He stared numbly through his freezing cell, feeling suddenly more tired than he could ever remember feeling before.

The Impala slid to a halt outside the well-kept iron gate at the head of the property supposedly belonging to Mahone's parents. In the dark distance Dean could see the house, a black shadow on the horizon, large and looming in the night sky. He stared hard at it as he shut the engine off and let the Impala rest in the stand of trees he hoped would be enough to hide it from prying eyes.

The older hunter turned to the younger, and Ash met his stare easily. He could see weariness and stubbornness, and fierce determination lighting the younger hunter's eyes and knew those orbs mirrored his own. But hopefully with the rising sun, an event still a few hours away, he would have Sam back, Mahone would be dead, and this hunt would be over. That, and he would be calling Joshua to tell him that they were never doing another job for him; it only ever seemed to end in disaster.

"Ready?" Dean asked, already knowing the answer. Ash nodded, and they exited the car, ignoring the squeak of the doors as they locked them. Dean opened the boot and both hunters chose their arsenal. Guns, knives… guns. They didn't plan on this being only a rescue mission. Both Dean and Ash had that urge to watch the life dim from Mahone's eyes.

They made their way to the gate, looking through the darkness to the house a couple of hundred metres up the drive. Dean shrugged, giving Ash a look, before getting a boost up to the top of the thick wall. He straddled it, hoisting Ash up with him. Together they jumped to the other side.

Once there, Ash let loose a sigh of relief. "So far -."

Dean whacked him in the shoulder before he could continue. "Don't ever say that," he warned in a far too serious voice. "You'll jinx us."

After a moment he grinned, seeing that Ash had no clue that he was joking. "It's okay. Come on. Optimism is good, kid."

Ash just rolled his eyes at Dean's back as the older man led off before catching up. Dean chuckled but the rest of the walk was spent in silence.

It didn't take as long as they had thought it would to reach the house, and there they stopped behind a bush, looking about. From here it all seemed normal. Quiet, but then again it was two in the morning. But then Dean took a closer look and he realized there were some telltale signs of abandonment that no one would have noticed because no one ever got close enough unless they were far too close for their own safety.

A window on the second story was broken, its jagged edges glinting in some moonlight that broke through the cloud cover. The paint was cracked and peeling, visibly even in the dark. And he swore he could see a tree growing through one window on the first floor.

But there was no movement, and after a moment Dean came out from hiding, creeping the final distance to the house.

It was a tree growing through the floor, he found out as he tumbled through, trying not to land on the glass shards that were all that remained of the window. He landed on bare ground, dirt poking through the shattered remnants of what would have been a nice polished wood floor. Back when Mahone's parents had actually been alive.

The whole room was forsaken, furniture overturned and rotting, the elements too much for it. Actually, Dean was surprised by the rate of decay of the room, walls half knocked out, lights blown, the smell of mould nearly overpowering. It was a far cry even from the isolated abandonment of the outside of the house. It was like something had sucked the very life from the whole interior of the house.

Ash tumbled through after him, wincing as his feet cracked some of the glass beneath the window. The kid looked around, raising an eyebrow.

"Jesus. What a mess."

Dean snorted. "Understatement of the century I think, Ash. Come on." And he led the way to the kitchen.

Or he would have. They were maybe half way across the room when Dean found his feet tapping one wood. Hollow wood. Hollow wood that seemed to creak in not such a good way.

He had time to share a look with Ash, pausing stupidly, before the floor gave way.

Dean must have lost consciousness somewhere along the way, because when he woke he was groaning and lying in mud. Or at least, he hoped it was only mud. Judging by the smell, he didn't want to know.

Putting a hand to his head, he sat up, looking about and realizing he had lost his torch somewhere. Groaning from that, he searched his pockets for his lighter, flipping it open and looking about.

"Hey, Ash, how you doing?" he called out, unable to see the kid past the small ring of light the flame gave.

"Been better. I wonder what this shit is… actually, I don't want to know."

A light flicked, and Dean realized Ash had been able to keep a hold of his torch. He blinked and winced in the sudden light as it passed his face, but shut the lighter, not wanting to waste the gas in it.

"Seen my torch?" he asked the kid. A second later he gave a yelp as something hit his lap. He didn't need Ash's chuckles to realize it was his torch.

"Yeah, real funny." He got to his feet, scowling. "I'm kicking Sam's ass for this," he muttered under his breath, knowing Ash wouldn't hear him, and glad too, because there was no way he meant it.

Flinging… mud from his hands, he took a firmer grip on his torch, looking about. Ash found something first.

"Hey, stairs!"

Dean went over to where Ash was standing. And looked up, groaning for a third time.

"I'm so glad to see that little fall was a complete waste of time," he spat, getting frustrated.

Ash shrugged, ever the optimist. "At least we know we can get out of here," he pointed out. Dean shone the torch in his face and the kid turned, rolling his eyes. Dean felt like pointing out the dangers of RSI.

Dean looked up, pointing the torch in the same direction. The beam of light hit a wooden door, like that of a cellar. He looked about, and judged the door to be in some part of the house. He could hear dripping water, thus the mud, and knew it had rained two nights ago. There had to be a hole somewhere in the house then.

Not that knowing any of that was exactly helpful to finding Sam and Anya. He muttered incoherently under his breath, swinging the torch around the rest of the room.

And then came Ash's chirpy voice once more, excited and restless.

"I found more stairs!" he called softly. Dean trudged over to stare with him. Stare down the long winding staircase. The ones that went down.

Feeling the anxiety slightly lessen in his heart, Dean grinned at Ash. "So far so good."

So, I know my postings haven't actually been very consistent. And it's probably going to stay that way. However, I will tell you know, that there will be no post tomorrow, seeing as I will be at my dad's house. And having not seen him in… well, longer than I care to mention, I don't think I should be spending time on the net. Sorry! But I hope you still enjoyed this chapter!