Chapter Fourteen
"Dean!" Lori called from the bathroom. "Dean!"
Dean came running into the bathroom and over to the tub. "What? What?"
"It's Sam!" Lori yelled, eyes wide. "Something's wrong!"
"What?" Dean exclaimed. "What's wrong?"
"He's in pain," Lori told him. She paused for a moment, concentrating. "He's gone."
Dean's eyes widened. "What?"
"Not dead," Lori quickly clarified. "Just…gone."
"Lori, did you feel that?" asked Lizzie.
"Yeah," said Lori. "I felt it. Do you know what's going on?"
"No," said Lizzie. "I'll try to talk to him. I'll let you know."
"Hurry," said Lori. "Dean's worried."
"Okay," said Lizzie.
Lori looked up at Dean. "Don't worry, Dean. Lizzie's looking into it."
Dean sat down next to the tub. "I just…I can't do anything to help him. I'm completely useless."
"No, you're not," said Lori. "You're doing what he can't. You're searching for him. We're already closer to finding him than we were this morning."
"I just wish we had a better clue to go on," said Dean.
"Me, too," said Lori. "I just want my sister to be okay."
"She will be," said Dean. "And Sam will be, too. They're strong. We'll find them, and they'll be okay."
Lori nodded and went back to waiting for contact from Sam or Lizzie.
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Sam woke up to a dark room. He jolted up from the floor of the tank, remembering what had happened. He raised a hand to his neck, feeling the raw skin where the scales had been. He looked down at his arm, seeing the puncture where they had drawn his blood.
Dammit, thought Sam. That hurt…
He looked around the dining room, seeing that everyone was gone now. It must be the middle of the night.
"Lizzie?" Sam called.
"Sam!" Lizzie exclaimed. "What happened?"
"What?" asked Sam.
"You were screaming," said Lizzie. "Did someone hurt you?"
"Uh…someone came to collect some scales and blood," said Sam. "They kind of tasered me."
"Are you okay?" asked Lizzie.
"Yeah, I'm fine now," said Sam. "What about you?"
"I'm okay," said Lizzie. "The last of the employees cleared out a couple minutes ago. You might want to talk to Lori. She heard your screams, too. Dean's kind of freaked out."
"Right," said Sam. "Lori?"
"Sam, are you okay?" asked Lori.
"Yeah," said Sam. "Bounty hunters—"
"—came to collect?" asked Lori.
"Yeah," said Sam.
"That's what we thought it might have been," said Lori. "Just hang in there, okay? We might be getting close."
"Thanks," said Sam.
He went back to sitting in the corner of the tank and waiting out the long hours until opening time again.
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Lori opened her eyes, looking towards the bathroom door. "Sam's fine!"
Dean ran into the room. "He's awake?"
"Yeah," said Lori. "He says they came for the scales and stuff."
Dean clenched his jaw tight. "Son of a bitch…"
"But he says he's fine now," said Lori. "Did we find anything?"
"No, not yet," Dean growled in impatience.
"Hey, you two, I think I found something!" Bobby called from the other room.
Dean's eyes brightened. "I spoke too soon." He rushed out of the bathroom as Lori pulled herself out, drying off and wrapping a towel around her.
Lori walked out into the room, sitting at the table. "What is it?"
"Well, there's a few restaurants that look promising," said Bobby. "All Asian, most with a bar attached or one nearby. But it could be any of them; we don't exactly have the name of the city they're being held in. One chain prides themselves on serving ten different kinds of sushi dishes, one serves nothing but shrimp and rice, one prides themselves on being the only one in the area to serve squid, one serves lobster, crab and steak…There's just too many that it could be. We're gonna have to search every one of them."
Dean rolled his eyes. "Great. Well, we better get started." He grabbed his jacket as Lori scrambled to pull some clothes on. "No better time to search restaurants than when they're closed."
Bobby wrapped up his research, grabbing the restaurant papers and following Dean out the door with Lori.
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Dean, Bobby and Lori stumbled back into the motel room the next morning.
"Nothing?" said Dean. "Are you kidding me? We searched ten freaking restaurants last night."
"That makes ten less to search tonight," Bobby pointed out, tossing his papers down onto the table. "We only searched Ashview Heights, Amal Heights and Peyton Forest. That's three cities down."
"And about twenty more to go," said Dean, flopping down onto the bed. "By that time, Sam could be filleted."
"I'm gonna see if they know anything else," said Lori, heading for the bathroom.
Bobby sat down at the table. "Don't worry, Dean, we're not giving up. We just need to eat before heading off to some more restaurants. We can always check them out as FBI during the day."
Dean sighed. "Maybe. Let's just hurry up and get take out. I need to find him…soon."
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Five days later…
Sam lay in his tank, staring up at the lid. Lori had told him and Lizzie that they were searching restaurants, but still, obviously, hadn't found anything. That, combined with the constant stares and jeers and the nightly scale and blood theft, was making Sam lose hope.
Surprisingly, his scales were beginning to diminish in color, almost as if his emotions were related to them. Whereas his scales used to be bright and luminescent, now they were almost a pastel shade—dull and faded. Sure, his scales grew back by the afternoon, but that didn't change the fact that it still hurt. Not to mention to constant electro-shock treatment.
The continuous tapping on the glass was driving Sam insane. He tried to ignore it and just stare off into space, but the incessant tap-tap was shoving a spike into Sam's temple. It's like these people didn't even care that he was trapped in here against his will. All they cared about was entertaining themselves.
It was about four o'clock, and there hadn't been any tapping for about a half hour now. Sam just lay on his side, facing the storage room. He heard something tap on the glass, but it was different somehow. It wasn't someone knocking on the glass or anything. The sound was…smaller somehow.
Sam turned his torso, looking over at the dining room to see a little boy—about five years old—at the glass. He stood with his hand plastered against the tank, a sad look on his face.
"Don't worry," Sam heard the little boy say with his advanced hearing. "I'll be your friend."
Sam's mouth twitched into a slight smile as he reached a hand out, putting it against the glass so his hand appeared to be touching the boy's hand. Sam looked at the little boy as he looked back at him. Sam smiled at the boy, touched by how much insight this little guy had.
"See?" said the little boy. "Don't be sad no more."
Sam smiled at him, slowly taking his hand off the glass as someone else stepped up to the glass. It was a guy in his early twenties.
"Hey, check it out," said the guy. "He is alive."
Sam rolled his eyes, turning back over towards the storage room.
"Ooh," said the guy. "Not very friendly, huh? Bet your mother was."
Sam froze, glaring at the glass of the storage room.
"Oh, yeah," said the guy. "I mean, she had to have been, to mother a freak like you."
Sam slowly rolled back over onto his back, glaring at the guy.
"Oh, no," said the guy. "I've angered it. Better run and hide."
Sam pulled himself up so he was at eye level with the guy.
"Oh, what, now you're gonna show me?" said the guy. "I'd like to see you try from that tank, you freak."
Sam towered over the guy, charging towards the glass. As he reached the glass, the electrical shock zapped into the water, stopping him instantly. He convulsed as he was electrocuted, twisting in the water. Somewhere in the distance, he heard a small voice shouting.
"Stop! Stop!"
Sam convulsed as the electricity kept coming, and he dropped towards the tank floor.
"They're hurting him!"
Sam hit the floor of the tank as the electricity stopped. He lay panting on the tank floor as his vision began to dim. He turned his head towards the dining room, where the guy was smirking and laughing at him. But Sam did not see him; he saw the five year old boy with his hands plastered against the glass, looking at Sam in worry and concern, just before the world went dark.
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Dean fidgeted on the couch in the motel room in Lithia Springs, Georgia. He'd given Lori his bed, which Lori was now sleeping in, surrounded by bags and bottles of water so she could wake up and use them to keep her form. They were getting desperate as each day passed and wanted Lori to hear anything Lizzie or Sam may say.
Lori snapped awake that night, frowning in confusion.
"No…"
Lori looked around the room, but could see that Bobby and Dean were both sound asleep and not talking.
"Stop…"
Lori's eyes widened as she recognized that voice.
"Don't…stop…"
Lori pulled herself up, dumping some water on her tail and torso.
"Please, don't…no…"
Lori looked over towards the couch. "Dean."
Dean didn't respond.
"Dean!" Lori yelled.
Dean jolted on the couch. "Wha—what?"
"Hurts…"
"Dean, it's Sam," Lori told him.
Dean was wide awake in a second, jumping off the couch and rushing to Lori's bed. "What? What's he saying?"
"I don't know," said Lori. "It sounds like he's begging someone. I don't think he's talking to me."
"Well, if he's talking to whoever is with him, then why is he letting you hear him?" asked Dean.
Lori frowned as she heard Sam's voice again.
"It's Oriental…restaurant and bar…Asian owner…fancy dining room…"
"I think he's talking to himself," said Lori. "In his sleep."
"What?" asked Dean.
"It sounds like his unconscious mind is trying to put all the clues together to figure something else out," said Lori. "Some clue he's missing. He just keeps going over details of the restaurant."
"What details?" asked Dean, eager for a hint.
"Stuff we already know," said Lori.
"West of Atlanta…"
"He still doesn't know what town he's in," said Lori.
"Eggrolls…sushi…"
"Now, he's naming the specials," said Lori, shaking her head.
Dean rolled his eyes. "Sammy and his stupid attention to detail…"
"That stupid squid…"
Lori's eyes widened as she stared straight ahead.
"Lori?" asked Dean.
Lori looked at Dean with a smile. "I know where he is."
"What?" asked Dean.
"I know where Sam is!" said Lori.
"Where?" asked Bobby.
They looked over at him. Apparently, he'd woken up at some point.
"You said there was one chain of restaurants that prided themselves on being the only ones in the state that served squid," said Lori.
Bobby nodded. "Yeah, Panda Garden."
"That's where he is," said Lori. "One of the specials Sam is naming is squid."
Bobby quickly got his boots on as Dean did the same. "There's one here is Lithia Springs and one in Douglasville. They both have bars attached to their buildings. That's where they are."
"Alright, come on," said Dean, heading for the door.
"I'll stay here and talk to them," said Lori.
Dean looked at her. "Alright, um, Bobby, stay with her and call me if they say anything important."
"Got it," said Bobby, handing Dean some papers. "Here's the addresses."
"Thanks," said Dean, running out the door.
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Dean dialed Bobby's cell as he hit the accelerator.
"Yeah?" Bobby answered.
"It wasn't in Lithia Springs," said Dean. "They must be in Douglasville. I'll be there in five minutes."
"Got it," said Bobby. "Lori says she's told Lizzie, but Sam must still be out of it. She can't reach him."
"Don't worry," said Dean. "I'll wake him up." He hung up.
Dean peeled into the parking lot of the restaurant five minutes later, jumping out and grabbing his pistol out of his jacket. He ran around back and kicked the door in, raising his gun as he ran in. Seeing no one, he headed out of the kitchen to see a giant aquarium along one wall of the dining room. Lying on the bottom of the tank was a familiar merman, facing the opposite wall.
"Oh, thank God," Dean breathed.
He rushed to the tank, seeing how Sam's scales had faded. He frowned in confusion and saw a door in the wall next to the tank.
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Sam jolted awake as he heard a loud clang. He looked behind him to see that the metal door was back in place, blocking out the view of the dining room.
No, Sam thought, backing up against the blocked-off dining room glass. No, they were already here tonight…They can't be back! No!
Someone quickly approached the tank in the storage room as Sam cowered against the far side of the tank. The person put both hands against the glass, looking in at him.
Sam's eyes widened as a smile broke out of his face.
"Dean!" Sam shouted, knowing his brother couldn't hear him.
Dean quickly grabbed a ladder as Sam rushed over towards the glass. Dean put the ladder next to the tank and scampered up it. Sam swam to the top of the tank, waiting for Dean to open the iron lid. There were some bangs from the other side of the lid before Sam saw Dean duck down on the ladder to see him. He showed him his gun, and Sam nodded, swimming to the far side of the tank.
Dean got back to the top of the ladder, firing a round off. The bullet shot through the lid and into the tank, embedding in the floor. Sam raced back to the lid as someone fussed with it. The lid came off, and Sam reached up through it, pulling his head and shoulders out to see Dean standing there with a smile.
"Damn, I'm so glad to see you," said Sam.
"Obviously," said Dean, looking at Sam's arms in confusion.
Sam looked down to see that his scales and fin had changed back to that bright color again; it was official—his scales reflected his emotions. Sam shrugged as Dean stared in horror at his arms. He could see the newly missing scales and latest puncture mark from that night.
"What did they do to you?" asked Dean.
"Doesn't matter," said Sam. "Get me out of here."
Dean grasped onto Sam's arms, trying to help him out. They got Sam's torso out before a gun cocked behind Dean. They both looked up to see two men at the door.
"You're not going anywhere," said one man.