Okay, here is the next chapter. No promises, but I may post another chapter later tonight, time allowing. Enjoy.

Cindy.

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Dean sat for what seemed like hours on the cold tile floor of the bathroom, slumped against the bathtub. The preceding night's events played through his mind, taunting him cruelly. He could hear his words as well as Sam's, could see the look on Sam's face, the hurt in his eyes. But it was like he was seeing and hearing it as a bystander, not the person who had said those vile things. Not the one who had betrayed his brother so cruelly. But it was his voice that spat the words. It was his eyes that had looked at Sam with hatred. It was his mind that had held the murderous thoughts. But was it? Dean didn't feel the things that had been said. He had never blamed Sam for anything, and he certainly didn't hate Sam. He could never hate Sam. So why did he say the cruel words? Why did he hurt Sam? Why did he try to kill him?

The ringing of his phone brought Dean out of his musings, and he quickly pulled the phone from his pocket, hoping against hope that it was Sam. He looked at the caller ID screen and flipped the phone open.

"Bobby? What's up?" Dean asked, his voice emotionless, exhausted.

"Dean, you need to listen to me! You need to get yourself and Sam to my place as soon as possible! Leave now Dean!" Bobby exclaimed, urgency in his voice.

The urgency seemed to break through the fog in Dean's mind, and he pulled himself up from the floor, clutching the phone tightly in his hand. "Bobby, what's wrong?"

"Don't let Sam out of your sight Dean! You need to get him here now! He'll be protected here!"

"I don't understand Bobby. Protected from what?"

"Sam is in danger. Ellen called. Ash has been tracking some disturbing demon signs. They are all over the place!"

"Yeah, so what does that have to do with Sam?" Dean asked, fear knotting his stomach.

"Ash did an extensive search of each occurance, and found a death each time. Six deaths in all. Each person killed was one of the psychics Dean!" Bobby exclaimed.

"What!? How does he know?" Dean asked, confusion in his voice.

"Ash apparently refined his program for locating the kids like Sam. He was able to locate more of them. All of them are dead. Killed by a demon."

"Is it yellow eyes?" Dean asked, his heart beating frantically in his chest.

"No, I don't think so. Why would yellow eyes kill his supposed army? No Dean, I think this is a different demon. It doesn't want to use the psychics, it wants to kill them. You have to get Sam here. My place is protected."

"Uh...well, that is going to be a bit difficult Bobby. Sam's gone, and I don't know where he is. He's been gone nearly twelve hours now and it's all my fault! I...I sent him away," Dean whispered the last part, his words making him sick.

"What do you mean you sent him away Dean?"

"I told him he was to blame for Mom, Dad, Jess and everyone else Bobby! And I told him I hated him and that if he didn't leave I'd kill him," Dean cried, his voice shaking with emotion.

"Dean, why would you say those things? My God! You don't honestly think Sam is to blame do you? And I know you don't hate Sam. Oh my God...Sam!" Bobby responded with shock.

"No Bobby! I could never think those things. You know I'd die for that kid!"

"Then why did you say it Dean?"

"I don't know! It was like someone else was talking. Bobby, what's happening?"

"Dean, you need to tell me everything. We'll figure this out. And we'll find Sam!"

Dean relayed everything to Bobby as it had played out. By the end, he was on the verge of tears. He brushed a shaky hand through his hair, taking deep breaths to calm his nerves.

"Okay Dean, I think I may know what's going on. The pain and dizziness you felt, I think was the demon. It got to you somehow. It tried to use you to kill Sam, but when that didn't work, it went to plan B. It put those thoughts in your head, made you believe them. It put the words in your mouth, then made you say them."

"But, why Bobby? What was the purpose?" Dean asked, bewildered.

"To separate you two. It'll be less difficult to get to Sam with you out of the way."

"We have to find Sam! He has no idea he's in danger Bobby. My God, it could have him already!" Dean cried, pacing feverishly back and forth beside his bed.

"We'll find him Dean. Have you tried calling him?"

"Shit! I didn't think to!"

"I'll try getting his location using the GPS in his phone. You try calling him. I'll call you as soon as I have his location."

"Thanks Bobby. We'll find him won't we?"

"We will Dean. I'll call you soon. And Dean? None of this is your fault. You weren't in control of yourself."

"Yeah, so why do I feel like I betrayed my little brother?"

"I'm sorry Dean. We will find him, I promise."

"Thanks" Dean said then hung up his phone. He hit the speed dial for Sam's phone, cursing when it went unanswered. 'What do you expect! He thinks you hate him asshole!' Dean thought to himself, then hit speed dial again with the same results.

"Shit! Sam, where are you?"

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Sam awoke slowly, groaning in pain at the slightest movement. He reached a shaking hand up to finger his aching jaw, wincing at the contact. He was shivering from the cold, which did not sit well with his injured ribs. He rolled carefully onto his side, then to his stomach and pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. He stayed that way for a moment waiting for the dizziness that had swept over him to pass. Once he felt steady enough, he pushed himself to his feet then staggered to the building, placing his hand on the wall for support. He glanced at his hand absently, then straightened slightly when he saw his watch and ring were missing.

"Son of bitch!" he cried hoarsely, before breaking into a coughing fit that nearly sent him to his knees from the pain. He reached back and patted his back pocket, only to find that his wallet was missing as well. He pushed away from the wall and searched the ground, hoping to find any of his missing belongings. His vision was still hazy, and with the darkness adding to that, he was unable to see anything even remotely resembling his things.

"Great!" Sam muttered under his breath. "I guess I won't be taking the bus now."

But it wasn't his wallet and money he was truly upset about. Dean had given him the watch for his birthday right before he left for Stanford. And the ring. It was a gift from Jessica for their first year together. It was the only thing he had left of her, except his memories. Those things couldn't be replaced.

Sam shook his head sadly, then began to slowly make his way back to the street. He wasn't far from the highway and now that he was penniless, he would need to thumb it to escape this town and his brother. He stumbled over something, but didn't bother to look down to see what it was. He made his way around the building and finally to the sidewalk where he stepped off the curb, his head down and his gait unsteady. He didn't even register the car that was bearing down on him until he heard the screech of tires and the blaring horn. He raised his head as if in a daze and silently watched as the car skidded to a halt a mere three feet from him. In an instant the driver was out of the car and screaming at him in a hysterical voice.

"Are you out of your mind!? I almost ran you over! Didn't your mom ever teach you to look both ways before crossing the street?" the woman shouted, then stopped short when she saw Sam's bloody and bruised face.

"Um...my mom died when I was a...a baby, so...I, uh," Sam stammered, then began to sway. The woman grabbed him to steady him, looking at him with concern in her eyes.

"Oh my God! What happened to you? You need a hospital. Here, let me take you!" she cried.

Sam weakly pulled away, pushing the woman's hands from him. "No hospital. I...I'm fine. I just got jumped...um, robbed. I just want to get out of here," he said, stumbling away from the woman.

"Let me call the police. Please, you're hurt. Let me help you!"

"No police. I just need to go," Sam cried softly. His knees suddenly buckled and he would have gone down if the woman hadn't caught him

"Here, at least let me get you into my car. You're freezing!" she said urgently.

"Th...Thanks" Sam sputtered, and allowed himself to be led to the woman's car. She opened the door and gently guided his tall frame into the passenger seat before slamming the door and rushing back to the drivers side.

"Let me turn the heat up for you!" she exclaimed as she got into the car. "So, where do you live? Can I drop you off?" She reached across Sam and opened the glove compartment, extracting a package of baby wipes.

"I...was going to the bus station, but now I have no money, no credit cards. They took everything," Sam said, his teeth chattering. "I guess I'll have to hitchhike."

"Oh my God! You can't do that, you'll freeze to death!" the woman cried. "Where are you going at this time of night anyway?"

"Anywhere but here. As far away as I can get," Sam answered, lowering his eyes.

"Here, let me clean you up a bit." The woman began to gently clean the dried blood from Sam's face with the baby wipes. Sam winced when she touched his split lip, flinching away from her. "Sorry, sorry. Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital? You're holding your side. Are your ribs hurt too?"

"No money or insurance card, so no hospital. I think my ribs are bruised, but I'll be fine. I've had much worse," Sam replied, nursing his ribs and stomach.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, what are you running away from anyway?"

"Someone who I thought loved me, who had my back. I thought wrong." Sam felt the tears begin to well up again, but held them in. He refused to shed anymore tears.

"Was it your girlfriend?"

"No. My brother." Sam's answer was short, and he turned his head toward the window, effectively ending the conversation.

The woman stared at Sam, her own eyes welling with tears. The pain she saw in Sam's eyes was not just from the physical injuries he had. His pain ran much deeper than that and she felt the sudden urge to just grab the young man and hug him, but she didn't.

"So, I'm heading to Colorado Springs. I can take you that far, if you want," she said, waiting for Sam's answer.

Sam slowly turned back to her, his eyes expressing his relief that someone cared enough to go out of their way to help him. "Are you sure? I mean, you don't even know me," Sam whispered softly.

"I'm a pretty good judge of people, and I see you as someone who just needs a little compassion. My name's Janet by the way," the woman said, extending her hand to Sam.

"Sam," he replied, taking her hand and shaking it softly. "Thank you."

"No problem. So, are you hungry? We could stop for dinner, my treat," Janet said, smiling kindly.

"I guess I am a little hungry. I can't remember when I ate last. Could we maybe stop in the next town though?" Sam replied, a sheepish look on his face.

"Yeah, sure. I understand," Janet said, pulling her car back onto the street.

They were soon on the highway, heading west to Colorado, away from Dean. Sam didn't know what the future held for him, and he didn't really care. The one person who he lived for, who made him care no longer wanted him around. He figured he would keep hunting, as he didn't know any other life. He would keep doing it until he died, which in his mind, couldn't come soon enough. Sam rested his head against the cool window, and soon fell off to sleep. If he could only have known what waited out there for him.

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That's it for now. I hope you like it.

Cindy