AN: Well, I hope you all like this one, let me know!
Dean was going insane; it was the only way to describe that if he could have crawled out of his own skin he would have. Ellie continued to cling to him and hadn't said another word since she had uttered his brother's name, worrying him more than ever since she also continued a death grip around his neck and waist. The police had already come and gone, taking pictures and filling out their reports with the promise that Sam was a top priority since there were obvious signs of foul play. His Captain insisted on him staying at home with the family and even had taken post in the kitchen in hopes of helping in some form or fashion as well. His parents were taking turns coaxing Ellie to either each or drink and had only managed a single cookie and one juice box before she shut that down too. With Bobby and Caleb out trying to find Jason, he didn't have any new information and it was slowly driving him out of his mind.
"Dean sweetie, come and sit down for awhile." Mary said praying that her son would take a moment to rest since he hadn't stopped walking the floor with Ellie in his arms since they found out what happened.
Shaking his head, Dean refused. He knew that they needed to find his brother soon, he could feel that things weren't going well at the moment and that scared him more than anything.
As the door opened everyone tensely watched the two figures walk inside. When Bobby looked at the group he knew he needed to make sure that everyone understood what he was about to say, but then he looked at Caleb and let him do the dirty work; he was getting too old for it.
"We thought we had a lead on Jason, but it was a dead end. It would help if we had at least an area that he seemed to have concentrated on, but from what Holly said he liked to look at a lot of different neighborhoods."
John looked at the hunters and wondered if they were telling them everything. From the looks that they kept shoot towards Captain Smythe and Holly, he got the distinct impression that the answer was 'no'.
When the small radio came to life close to the Captain, he listened intently and then sighed spreading some maps out on the table. "Dean, I've tried to go over some of the neighborhood maps and I've found some districts that if this Jason person wanted to take someone and wanted privacy, then they might be it. Otherwise, I'm not sure what help I can be. I have to go for now, but if you need anything then call; we'll be there."
Nodding, Dean watched as his commander walked out to his truck and drive down the street out of sight. Turning back around, he looked towards his mom and asked silently to do something with Holly so they could figure things out. When they made their way to the other house, Dean looked at the others and motioned for them to continue.
"Look, you know by now how there are some people who don't see shades of grey when it comes to the supernatural. Jason is of course one of those people but with a twist. From what we heard from a fellow hunter, Jason believes that he is doing the will of God by killing those who had been touched by the same demon that tried to take Sam when he was a baby." Bobby stated calmly, he knew the news wouldn't be taken well and he was right. The looks that both Winchester men were giving him made his blood run cold, but he continued. "He is starting to get a reputation for torturing his victims first, which gives us some time… at least we know that Sam's still alive."
John looked at Bobby and wanted to smash his fist in his face for acting as if everything was alright just because they now knew that Sammy was being tormented instead of immediately murdered. 'They have to be crazier than that Jason kid.' He thought as he continued to listen.
Dean had stopped listening to them; he couldn't get the picture of Sam in pain out of his head. All he wanted to know was where his brother was, and if they couldn't tell him that then they needed to leave; he had work to do.
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Mary had no idea what to think about Holly at the moment. She had watched as her best friend's daughter had grown up much as she had thought Sammy would, but she never thought that they would now be in the position where she was going to have to break the girl's heart in order to save one of her boys lives.
"Holly, I know you're still having doubts about what you've heard, but…"
Holly knew what was coming, and she couldn't help but feel some form of resentment. She was a grown woman and had a brain in her head, what was it with people thinking that she couldn't tell when someone was using her? As she half heartedly listened to her mom's friend she thought about how little she really knew about her. Her mom had explained that they had been extraordinarily close until baby Sammy had disappeared; afterwards the Winchester's only associated with a select few and not as well as before. She wondered what life would have been like if Sam hadn't been taken, would they all been playmates, or possibly more?
"Are you alright?" Mary asked, seeing that Holly had become extremely quiet. She wondered if it was possible that in another time, this young woman would have married one of her boys just as she and Allison had dreamed so long ago. Sensing that they weren't really getting anywhere with the straight forward approach, she wanted to find a way to get what they needed without her feeling attacked again. They had been up all night trying to piece together information that would lead them to Sam, but nothing was working, and now it was in the early morning hours and they were no closer than when they had discovered Sam missing.
"Mary, if I showed you all of the places that Jay seemed truly interested in, what good would it do? If what you say is true, we'd have to search each building floor by floor and your son might not have that much time." Holly began quietly. "Jason is a good man who only wants to help people and renovate areas that have been forgotten. The person that you all have been describing to me is a monster who wouldn't have a clue about helping people at all."
"Do you think you could show us on a map the places you showed him?" a voice came from the doorway.
Dean didn't know what to think when he heard Holly speak about the man she obviously adored, but he couldn't help the feeling of unease that was rising in him; his brother was hurt, and she unknowingly knew where he was.
Holly looked at the man in front of her and nodded sadly, "Of course Dean, but it won't do you any good; Sam won't be in any of them and you'd just be wasting your time."
Half an hour later, the area and specific properties were circled in blue ink, often coinciding with properties circled in red. Knowing that they couldn't all search together, the list was split between the four men, leaving the women to try and figure out any other way to narrow down the list.
After making sure Ellie was still asleep on the couch, Dean leant over and kissed her cheek while whispering, "I'll bring him home princess, I promise."
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The search was going slow, and it was frustrating the men considerably. After agreeing that they would use walkie talkie's to keep in touch after every building, they had quickly hurried to their destinations. It was obvious even in the dawning new day that it was going to take awhile and Dean was starting to kick himself that he hadn't asked the Captain for some help.
Finishing his first building, he was feeling the pressure of not knowing what to do. They had to make sure the building's were completely empty which meant looking into each room, taking more time than what he felt they had. He had five more to search on his list and already he was disheartened. When his phone vibrated in his pocket, his first inclination was to ignore it since it could just be one of his friends checking on things, but after taking a moment he knew that it could just as well be about Ellie and that made up his mind.
"Hello!" he practically shouted, hoping that whoever it was would get the message that he was in a hurry.
"Dean, listen to me carefully… I don't know how he knows, but Brian called and said that you're close, real close to finding Sammy. You need to hurry to the next building Dean, you have to hurry!"
He had no idea why he believed a person that he didn't even remember, but he knew exactly why he believed his mother; and if she said to get to the next building, then that's what he was going to do. While he ran across the street though, he called the firehouse and relayed the address; something told him they'd be needed today.
Rushing into the old apartment building, he looked around and wondered why the place wasn't condemned. It was obvious that the structure, while brick, wasn't sound and the place looked more like dried kindling than stately housing. Making quick work of the first floor, he started to call out to his brother praying that Sam could hear him; that he was still alive enough to answer.
"SAM! SAMMY, WHERE ARE YOU!?"