Sam watched as Dean approached, he was unsurprised his brother had found him. After all, Sam really hadn't made it far. He'd headed for the main strip looking to walk off the anger and frustration that seemed to be overriding his instincts and had made it no further than the bench he currently occupied.
A river of people streamed by in the early afternoon sunshine intent on enjoying the park and its amusements. Sam had tried going with the flow, but after being run over twice, once by a stroller and the second by a little old lady on a motorized scooter, he'd given up. Unfortunately turning against the crowd had been about as effective as a fish swimming upstream. Oh, he could do it, but the pace was so slow it offered no therapy for blowing off steam.
So, at last unable to get anywhere he'd faced the inevitable and had taken a seat on a bench. As he sat, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees he waited for the inevitable. The inevitable, of course, being the sight of his brother tracking him down like he was a wayward child. It rarely failed to bring a grin to Sam's face to watch Dean make his way through a sea of humanity. His brother moved with a singular grace, never so much as brushing against the throng of people. It was as if to Dean, the people didn't even exist, his focus alone was centered on finding Sam.
If it was anyone else, Sam would have stood and made his presence known. With Dean, however, there was really no need. When it came to his little brother, Dean seemed to have a sixth sense that had yet to fail him.
As Dean approached, he scanned the crowd, at last locating Sam. Sam watched and waited for his brother to make his way toward him. It was as much a surprise to Sam as to Dean when someone knocked into his brother. His older brother deftly caught the teenager, that had been pushed into him, righting the kid with ease. However, even after the kid moved on his way, Dean stood still, looking over his shoulder allowing the crowd to make their way around him. Finally, Dean turned and resumed making his way to Sam.
"I've seen him. I know what he looks like," Dean exclaimed, anger clouding his features. "I saw the bastard the first day we were here. He bumped into me, I knew something was wrong at the time but couldn't put my finger on it."
Sam stood, frowning in thought. "You really think you know what he looks like?"
Dean nodded his eyes scanning the crowds that jostled and pushed their way past the brothers. "Yeah, I do."
Sam grinned. "Let's go then, the administration office has pictures of all its employees. We can locate him and let the cops handle it, Karen will stay safe, and the bastard'll be back behind bars where he should be."
The brothers moved into the pack, heading toward the administration offices, which of course seemed to be located in the opposite direction the crowd flowed. "Where's Karen?" Sam asked as he dodged and sidestepped his way through the people.
"She's at her house. I told her to lock herself in and open up for no one. She should be safe, Frank only seems to strike at night." Dean took the lead at a near run as they moved away from the main thoroughfare and the crowds thinned.
Sam nodded and moved into a jog to keep up with his brother. "Good, we'll find this guy, call the cops, and clear out before anyone can question."
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Dean followed Sam out of the office, lengthening his stride to keep pace with his brother. "Slow down, Dude. I know you're hot to see Karen, but there's no reason to come off as too eager, chicks like a bit of cool." Dean's joke got nothing more than a snort from his younger brother.
"We're getting out of here, Dean. We can't afford to be here when the cops start scouring this place for Frank." Sam picked up his pace a notch, heading toward the cabin they were renting.
Dean kept pace easily. "We have time to say goodbye, Sam. We can't just ditch without letting Karen know we found the guy."
"Dean, you're wanted by the feds, and the killer's got your knife. We can call Karen and tell her everything's okay, but then we're out of here." Sam's tone made it clear he meant it.
Dean shrugged, not willing to push the issue. After all, leaving the park and finding a motel with a shower was top on his list of things to do, if Sam wanted to leave, leave they would.
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Karen stood at the kitchen window, a cup of coffee in her hand, and watched the path that led to the park. Dean and Sam had now been gone close to two hours and in that time Karen had become more and more anxious. Taking a sip of her coffee, she grimaced at the cold brew. She doubted the two pots she'd already drunk were helping to settle her nerves.
Settle her nerves, there was a joke, as if her nerves could be settled when there was a killer on the loose. Setting aside her mug, Karen moved from the window determined to get herself under control. She moved toward the fridge and opened the door, peering into it's depths she decided to have a meal ready for the men when they returned.
Sam had called about an hour ago to tell her they had a lead on the killer. Both he and his brother were fairly optimistic that they'd be able to locate Frank before he could find another victim. Karen had faith in Sam. Even in the short time she'd known him, she found herself trusting him. As she began to dig through the fridge determined to find something special to feed the fellows, she heard a knock at the door.
Quickly she straightened and breathed a sigh of relief. With a gentle nudge to the fridge door, she was across the kitchen and into the entry in seconds. Without thought, she swung the door wide, expecting to find the two handsome brothers standing on her doorstep.
Instead, Karen had only a fleeting glimpse of a man, in a Knoebel's standard issue work uniform a green cap pulled low over his eyes, before he knocked her out with a blow to the temple.
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Sam stood on the porch and watched as Dean dropped their last bag into the trunk of the Impala. He'd called Karen earlier letting her know they were headed toward the administration offices to check on a lead. Since then, they'd identified Frank and had tipped the authorities to the man. They'd also left the information Sam had gathered on the other missing girls in Deloris's capable hands.
The brother's had intended to take off and stay out of sight until this evening. Sam figured a night spent at the creek should be enough to see if Frank's capture allowed Sandy's spirit to move on. But now, as he again listened to Karen's voice mail, he found himself worrying.
Dean looked up from the car's trunk and seemed to sense Sam's unease. Slamming the trunk, he faced Sam, and said, "Let's go check on her. No need to worry, I'm sure she's fine. There are undercover cops swarming the place."
Sam tucked his phone back into his pocket and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. You take off, I'll go check on her."
Dean arched a brow and snorted. "Like I'm leaving. No way, dude, let's go."
Sam stared hard at his brother. "You're joking right, I'm not going to let you wander the park while the police search for a man on a most wanted poster. Hello, you're on a most wanted poster."
Dean shrugged and started back down the dirt lane heading for the park. "I'm not leaving you, Sam, so you might as well save your breath. No one here's looking for me."
Sam stood on the porch half-tempted to knock his stubborn ass of a brother down. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that he had a really bad feeling about Karen's unanswered calls.
"Time's wasting, Sam. Let's go."
Sam shook his head and took off after Dean, pulling his phone from his pocket once more. Another half-dozen rings later and he was again dumped into her voice mail.
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Karen awoke to the sound of Snow Patrol's 'Chasing Cars', recognizing her ring tone, she went to answer the phone. It was only as she tried to move that she came fully awake. At first, she couldn't figure out why her arms wouldn't move, it took only a bit of wiggling to figure out her hands were tied behind her back.
It was then the last couple of hours came crashing back along with a staggering headache. It hadn't been Sam at the door as she'd expected, instead it'd been a man. Well Karen assumed it was a man, after all, she had only a moment to register surprise before hit with blinding pain and then nothingness.
Forcing her eyes open, she glanced around and tried to get her bearings. She was lying on her side, her arms twisted painfully behind her, her cheek rested on a bed of damp leaves. Wiggling about, she quickly realized her legs were also trussed, allowing her little movement. A glance about, showed her the huge concrete foundations that marked the footers for Rolling Thunder the roller coaster.
A moment later, the ground began to shake and a loud roaring noise set her fillings to vibrate. As she lay there, a car full of screaming riders flew by overhead, their attention so centered on the ride they would never notice her lying on the ground tucked up against the footers. Frank, or whatever his name was, had chosen well, screaming would do her no good as it was a busy afternoon and there were two cars running. That meant there was always a cart on the track. Plus, the white picket fence that surrounded the base of the ride would prevent anyone from seeing her.
As her phone again began to ring, Karen prayed that it was Sam and he would soon realize she was in trouble. She figured she had until nightfall before Frank came back, well at least she hoped.
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"No luck?" Dean asked, though he could tell by Sam's face the house had been empty. Sam had opted to go inside Karen's house, leaving Dean to keep watch.
"Nothing, no sign of a scuffle and the front door was unlocked."
Dean scanned the area, his mind racing. "No way she left voluntarily. She must have opened the door for him."
"Damn. We must have led him right to her."
Dean agreed the killer was making it personal. After all, he now had Karen, and Dean's knife. Frank would have no problem fading into the background as Dean was fingered for the deaths.
"We'll find her, Sam. I'm sure she's still alive, whatever he's planning hasn't happened yet." Dean wished he felt as confident as he sounded.
"What now, Dean? I mean everyone's searching the park for him. How do we find her?" Sam asked, sounding a lot less confident of their success.
Dean stared at the house for a moment before finally shrugging. "Did you try calling her cell inside the house?"
Surprise darted across Sam's features, followed by a grin. "No, come on." Sam turned and headed back toward the house.
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Karen was trapped in a nightmare, she decided. Really, there was no other explanation. People didn't get absconded by serial killers, bound and left under roller coasters. It just didn't happen. Well being kidnapped by serial killers probably happened every day. And, if she were honest she'd admit probably ninety-nine percent of the victims at some point ended tied up. But under a rollercoaster? Things like that just didn't happen.
Unable to lie on her side any more, Karen shifted slightly until she lay facedown. As the pressure on her bound arms eased a bit, she decided lying facedown on a year's worth of accumulated leaves was well worth it. Although, when the pins and needles began in her hands, she almost changed her mind.
Shifting a bit more, she found she could inch her way along the ground. Similar to the aptly named 'inch worm' she began to scoot across the forest floor. Able to move only a few inches at a time, Karen was fairly sure when Frank returned he'd find her about a foot from where he'd left her. But, really, she figured, what the hell? Why not give it a go. Having something to focus on, no matter how insignificant, far out weighed wallowing in fear and pity.
So Karen inched. Little by little she moved, keeping her focus on the ground before her. When exhaustion finally forced her to halt, she allowed herself to see just how far she'd come. Unable to see her watch, she could only guess that she'd been moving for about twenty minutes. By her calculations, she'd probably moved roughly a foot in that time. Karen let loose a snort, and once again rested her head against the spongy black dirt.
Tired beyond belief, she closed her eyes, the constant roar of the coaster, and the ground's vibration quickly lulled her to sleep.
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Karen groaned in pain as she came awake, she tried to flex her arms, but was unable to feel them. As she blinked the sleep out of her eyes, she tried to decide what she should do next. Her options at this point were pretty limited, she could either resume her inching crawl or she could simply lay there waiting for Frank to return.
Karen began inching once more. Slow and steady she wiggled her way across the ground her destination being the employee path that made it's way past Rolling Thunder. She refused to admit it would take her days to reach that path, instead she focused on doing what she could, anything more would overwhelm her.
She wriggled and slid her way across the ground intent upon her destination. At least, she did until the smell hit. Karen recognized the reek at once, it was the same disgusting, fetid smell, road kill had when left on the side of the road. She halted at once, her eyes watering from the smell, though a glance around showed her nothing that would be responsible for making such a stink. The thought that she was crawling her way through the dead and rotting carcass of some animal was enough to make vomit rise in the back of her throat.
Anxious to get clear of the smell, Karen struggled to her side. Once there she began to snake her way backward toward where she'd began. She made it less than a foot before she screamed. The sound so loud and primal it sounded more like an animal than human.
There, right in front of her, sticking up from the ground were three fingers. The fingers were grayish in color, bloated and in some places the skin had split showing the bone beneath. Unable to help herself Karen screamed again.
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"Hustle, Sammy, we gotta move." Dean stood at the kitchen window and kept careful watch. They'd been inside Karen's place for over two hours now and Dean was becoming decidedly nervous. After all, near as they could figure the killer planned to frame them for Karen's death. Being found inside her house wouldn't help their defense at all.
"I know, Dean," Sam replied as he cursed once more.
Sam had been working on hacking into Karen's cell phone provider, his intent to track the GPS locater in her phone. However, the slow connection had made what was a rather difficult process nearly impossible. Dean knew his brother's sense of guilt, combined with Sam's anger toward the serial killer wasn't helping.
"Got it, let's go." Sam glanced at the computer screen, memorizing the stationary dot that represented Karen. As he verified Karen's location on one of the park's maps, Dean began wiping down nearly every surface he could manage. Although he liked to give Sam a ration of shit about his lack of record, he had no interest in allowing Sam to become a wanted man. Plus, the wipe down would also help keep Dean off the radar.
Sam quickly gathered his gear, slinging his computer bag over his shoulder, he headed toward the door. "I've found her."
Dean gave the kitchen chair he'd used one last swipe and followed his brother out of the house.