Warnings and disclaimers: See chapter 1

More torture as well.

Many thanks to CorieHall for the beta on this story.

Chapter 14 Breadcrumbs

Dean came back to consciousness with a snap, this time suddenly aware and awake after being deeply out. He realized at once through the feeling of his muscles, his bleeding mouth and the smell in the air that he had been shocked awake. The chain slipped from his hips to the floor with a clatter before the flashlight was in his face again and he felt the sensation of being watched. He heard the soft grunt of male voices then a very heavy weight was placed on his back. The weight was pushed back and forth until it was evenly distributed over his back. During the movement Dean felt what it was. An iron plate roughly as tall and wide as the bed he was on and fairly thick. Something clanged and the weight became even heavier pushing him into the metal bed. Dean guessed by the smell and sound they had placed more metal weights on top.

There were footsteps of two people and shuffling and bumping noises around the room for the next half an hour and Dean assumed by the noises they were cleaning up the room. Not that he could tell too much with his head squashed against the metal straps. Dean had to concentrate on breathing and keeping the weight evenly distributed so he didn't crack a rib. He had the feeling this was what it would be like to have an elephant sit on him as sweat poured down his face. After a while the flashlight switched off and florescent room lights flickered on.

The door shut and Dean tried to look around the room without compromising his position. Concrete walls painted an old dull grey. Plain and boring. He could see the camera in the corner and the two steps going up to a plain peeling black door from his position but nothing else. There were some lighter colored patches on the walls like signs had been taken off but that was about it. As far as he could tell, the room had been cleaned up. With a sinking feeling Dean thought he might be coming to the end of his time in the room.

Sam and Bobby had a map in front of them as they took their first break that day for lunch. They had decided to split up as it was such a huge area to cover and had two way radios in their inside jacket pockets to keep in contact with each other. Sam drew cross hatches over the area he had searched using a pencil after Bobby had done his.
"Bobby does it feel the same over here to you?"
"What do you mean?"
"I got that feeling you get when you are being watched a couple of times."
"Can you remember where?"
"Yeah. Here and here." Sam made two small dots on the map.
"Hmm. I will go back over the areas but I want you to move further to the east just in case. Take this area here," Bobby pointed to the map, "and I will meet up with you down here towards dinner time."

The late afternoon sun beat down on Sam as he felt that feeling of eyes on him again. He shook it off after checking his position on the map. The area Bobby had sent him to was all deserted factories and building sites. It was taking him some time to get anywhere since he insisted on looking through as many locked up windows as he could at each building.

An hour out from the time he was meant to meet Bobby Sam found a T shirt on the ground. It was black and plain and Sam thought it looked like the size and type Dean wore. Sam's heart fell to his knees when he looked at the tag and saw a faded 'D' on the label. Damn. That was what Dean always put on his shirts now that Sam was getting closer to Dean's size. It made sense with three guys with similar taste in clothes to do. He sniffed the shirt feeling like an idiot but thought he could make out a very faint scent of his brother.

Sam tried to call Bobby on the radio but there was too much static. Were the metal buildings blocking the signal or was someone doing it on purpose? He looked at the light gravel where he had found Dean's shirt and saw boot prints. He shoved the t shirt between the water pipe and the wall of the factory in case he needed the reference point again. Sam followed the prints easily around some building until he came across a boot. It was Dean's favorite brand and style that he had been wearing that faithful day.

Sam tried Bobby again only to be met with a squawk of static. He carried the boot around the corner following more boot marks. The marks came to a stop in front of a door of a building and he lifted the radio to his lips to call Bobby again. As his fingers pressed the button, there was a sharp sting on his neck.

Sam's fingers went to his neck and pulled off a small dart with blood on the tip. Sam moved away from the door urgently bringing the radio up to his lips.
"Bobby help. I found Dean's shirt."
Another sting to his neck and Sam's head was starting to spin as the drugs ran through his system. He didn't know if Bobby could hear him but he had to try.
"Bobby help. The factory on… third blue door…"

And Sam's knees gave out as he sank to the ground dropping everything he held including the radio. He tried to stay upright but ended up on the ground as the world spun. No, that was him that spun as his stomach was hit with nausea. He rose up on his hands and knees several times but it was a weaker effort each time until his eyes closed and he was out.

TBC