Hi all! I hope you liked how the last chapter left off! It feels like it's taken forever to get here, but we're officially in 'couple' territory. Yay! We're moving right along and skipping ahead a bit and picking back up on The Benders episode. Now, if you have watched Supernatural, then you know how twisted this episode gets. This chapter doesn't really need any special trigger warnings, but once we get rolling into the next couple, there will be heavy themes of S.A./kidnapping/torture. (I gave this story an M rating for a reason). So, just proceed with caution if those are triggers for you. As always, I appreciate each and every one of you who have dedicated yourself to this story! And an extra big thank you to all of you who leave reviews! They always bring me joy. I hope you like this next bit! Xoxo-NickyLynn
Hibbing, Minnesota – May 20, 2006
Ariella had never been one who possessed what any qualified psychiatrist would consider a 'healthy' coping mechanism. When it came to dealing with the horde of baggage strapped to her back, she typically dealt with it through one of two outlets—hunting or drinking. And luckily for her, those two things, more often than not, seemed to go hand-in-hand. She, Dean, and Sam had been checking out the area on reports of locals going missing and were currently set up at one of the bars while they tried sorting through their preliminary findings.
It had been almost a month since Dean's brush with death and Ariella's subsequential confession of love, and things had been more than a little tense. Not because of Dean and Ariella's mending relationship, however. The elephant in the room had become Sam's seemingly growing supernatural powers.
On their last gig, Sam had a premonition that he had insisted they look into. Sure enough, it seemed like the images he had been seeing had been real. Sam was getting unrefuted premonitions of the future. Things took an even more complicated turn when the main suspect of the job had turned out to be young man who had powers like Sam. Powers that had begun to manifest the night Jess died. After a long and emotionally trying hunt, Sam ended up pushing the boundaries of his own powers and was able to control things telepathically much like the other man. Per usual, they had been handed more questions without getting any answers in return.
There was something wrong with Sam. Yellow-eyes had done something to him…they just didn't know what. Dean had been putting up a good front since the revelation, but Ariella had seen the look that would wash across his face when he thought no one was looking. He wasn't just worried about Sam…he was scared of him. Ariella had done her best to not let her worries show either. She wasn't necessarily scared of Sam….she could never be…she was just terrified of what it all meant. She needed to know what yellow-eyes had planned, yet she was at a total and complete loss on the matter…and it was slowly driving her mad. Without any other option, they just continued on like nothing had changed. They kept tracking down leads. They kept on hunting. Because at least that they could handle.
Ariella was weaving back through the crowded bar with two drinks in her hands, doing her best to avoid the mass of burly men while also ignoring the comments they would inevitably throw her way as she slid past. Sam and Dean had taken up a table tucked away in the back past all the billiard tables, the prior trying to do research on their current case while Dean occupied himself by throwing darts. She strode back up to the two of them just as Dean sent his last dart whizzing towards the board, pumping his arm down in victory when it landed within the bullseye.
"Here." She said, holding one of the beers out to him. "I had to suffer through not one, but two failed attempts at flirting while waiting for that so you better enjoy it." She told him as she handed it off.
"I appreciate your sacrifice ma'am." He responded with a mock salute before pulling the glass up to his lips to take a long drink.
"Find anything?" she asked then, turning back towards Sam with a questioning brow.
"The local police have ruled out foul play." He informed her, referring to the latest missing person they had been looking into. A young boy had reportedly witnessed the attack and, after a brief interview with him, they had determined it was likely that he had seen something supernatural in nature. "There were apparently signs of a struggle but not much else to go on."
"There's a chance it's not supernatural." Ariella surmised with a shrug as she moved towards Dean, pulling a few of the recollected darts from his hand. "Kid said himself he didn't really see anything, just heard it." She added as she brought her arm up and made her first throw. It landed in the dead-center. "Maybe this isn't our kind of gig."
"Yeah, maybe." Sam hummed as Dean took his turn, landing his just outside the border of the bullseye. Ariella flashed him a cocky smile. "Expect Dad marked the area."
"Really?" Ariella asked, turning to give him a surprised look as she lifted her arm again. "For what?" Bullseye.
"'Possible hunting grounds of a phantom attacker.'" He read off, pulling the quote of out John's journal. Ariella stepped back over to him, leaning over his shoulder to read John's notes for herself while Dean took his turn. Bullseye this time.
"What makes him say that?" Dean asked.
"Well, he found a lot of local folklore about a dark figure that comes out at night, grabs people, then vanishes." Sam answered.
"That and this county supposedly has more missing people per capita than anywhere else in the state." Ariella added as she pointed out John's writing which stated as much. "Maybe it is our kind of gig after all." She mused, bringing her gaze back up to Dean. He tipped his head to the side in agreement.
"That is weird." He agreed before taking another drink.
"Phantom attackers usually take people from their beds though." Ariella said as she rejoined Dean, throwing her final dart, which succeeded in knocking Dean's last one off the board completely. He shot her a scowl as she waggled her brows at him at the defeat. "Our guy was taken from a parking lot." She continued, directing her focus back on Sam.
"Well, there are all kinds." Sam offered with a shrug. "Springheeled Jacks…Phantom Gassers…they can take anyone from anywhere."
"Yeah, maybe." Ariella said, not entirely convinced.
"Look, to be honest, I'm not sure if this is our kind of gig or not either." He said, reaching out to flip John's journal closed. "But I think it would be prudent of us to look into things more and make sure."
"Oh, you hear that?" Dean asked, casting Ariella a smirk. "It would be prudent of us." He teased.
"We'll ask around in the morning." Ariella suggested, choosing to ignore Dean's jab at Sam's education. "See if we can't turn anything else up."
"Right. Well, I saw a motel five miles back." Sam said, letting out a tired sigh.
"Woah, woah." Dean said. "Pump the brakes muchacho. She said in the morning. It's not even nine o'clock."
"We should get an early start." Sam insisted with a shake of his head.
"You really know how to have fun, don't you, Grandma?" Dean tossed at him with a huff. "Why don't you let loose for a night? I mean, hell, when's the last time you got laid?"
"Yeah, I think I'll pass." Sam told him with a roll of his eyes. "Besides, I think I've been permanently damaged from having to listen to the two of you go at it last night." He added.
"I swear we weren't even doing anything!" Ariella defended for what felt like the tenth time, throwing her hands up in the air beside her.
"Until after you locked yourself in the bathroom." Dean added with a smirk as he pulled the glass back up to his lips.
"Dean!" Ariella huffed, reaching out to smack the back of her hand against his arm. His smirk only grew in response.
"Look, if you two want to hang for a bit longer then I'll just take one of the cars and meet you there." Sam reasoned, trying to drop the awkward conversation.
"Yeah, you can take mine." Ariella said in response, fishing the keys out of her pocket before tossing them to him. "I'll walk out with you though. I want to grab my bag out of the back before you head out."
"Sleep tight, Grandma." Dean sing-songed to Sam after gathering his things and following behind Ariella. Sam responded by giving him the middle finger from over his shoulder. Ariella and Sam made their way back through the busy bar then, before slipping outside.
"You know, I think I liked it better when you and Dean were fighting all the time." Sam commented dryly as they walked through the lot back towards the parked cars, shooting Ariella an annoyed look.
"Don't listen to Dean." She answered with a small laugh, pulling the back door to her car open to retrieve her bag as they got to it. "He's just trying to rile you up." She said, pulling the bag open to fish the small tin container out from the bottom. She pulled it out as she shut the door behind her, instead leaning up against it as she flipped open the lid and pulled out what had been stashed inside.
"Is that weed?" Sam asked with an arched brow, watching as she pulled out the small white joint before lighting it up.
"What's wrong college boy?" she laughed after drawing in a drag of smoke. "You can't tell me you didn't smoke at least a little while at Stanford."
"Where'd you even get it?" he asked, waving away the offer as she tried holding it out to him.
"The receptionist at that last Motel Six." She shrugged before her previous humor fizzling away as more serious thoughts swirled within her. "How are you doing by the way?" she asked, eyes sweeping over him in concern.
"I'm fine." He replied instantly, jaw tensing at the question.
Ariella arched her brow at the response. "Sam, literally not a single facet of our lives has ever been fine." She stated dryly. "You haven't—" she said, kicking her toe into the gravel nervously. "You haven't been having any more premonitions or anything have you?"
"I'm fine, Ari." He restated with a shake of his head. "You and Dean can back off a bit, you know. You've been tiptoeing around me like a bomb ready to go off since Saginaw."
"I know." Ariella sighed, bringing her hand up to rub at her forehead in frustration. "I'm sorry. I'm just worried about you. Everything that's happened is a lot to swallow…I just want you know you can talk to me."
"I know." Sam said, not sounding upset by the topic, but not really wanting to discuss it either. Silenced followed after that, and, knowing there was really not much more to say on the matter, Ariella's grin returned as she pushed off the car. "And speaking of hard things to swallow….I should probably get back to Dean."
Sam's eyebrows pulled together in confusion for a moment before they shot up in understanding. "Oh! Ari! Would you guys cut that that!" he complained with a groan, growing tired of the flirtatious looks and innuendos the two of them had been passing back and forth over the past month. "You're worse than a couple of teenagers."
"Oh, we were worse as teenagers, I assure you." Ariella quipped, grin growing wider.
"Okay, well, I'm leaving now." He responded with a shake of his head. As annoyed as he was though, Ariella could see the faint traces of humor lining his face. It was why she and Dean had been so relentless in trying to embarrass and tease him lately…they both just wanted things to feel….normal.
She watched him move for the driver's door then, but just as he went to pull it open the sound of a chain dragging against the ground caught Ariella's attention. Her instincts were suddenly sending off an internal alarm, causing her smile to faulter as she strained her ears for what it had been. "Did you hear that?" she asked, meeting Sam's eyes briefly as she tried to zero in on the sound again.
The faint sound of metal on metal could be heard again, this time from down low. Sam's eyebrows dipped together in confusion as he picked up on the sound too, both of them sure it had come from somewhere under the car. Ariella cautiously dropped down to the ground, peering under the chassis for the source of it. Her heart nearly came right up out of her throat as something came lunging at her, causing her to jolt back in fear. The loud hiss, followed by a small, orange cat running out from under the car caused an involuntary yell to tear from Ariella's throat as she stumbled away from in sudden surprise.
Sam's deep laugh followed suit, causing Ariella's wide, panicked eyes to snap over to him as she worked at calming her frantic heartbeat. "Oh my God." Sam wheezed upon seeing her stricken face. "It was a cat, Ari! You nearly pissed yourself over a cat!" he laughed, having to nearly double over as the laughs rolled through him. "You should have seen your face!"
Ariella felt a blush creep up her neck as she realized how loud she had yelled over a harmless cat. She quickly glanced at the small joint still held within her grasp before snuffing it out completely. "Yeah, I don't think I should smoke anymore of this." She said before tossing it away.
"That was hilarious." Sam snickered, still having a hard time getting his laughter under control.
"Didn't you have a motel to get to?" she huffed in response, turning on her heel and storming back towards the bar before another cat could jump out at her.
Another cat jumping out at her, however, quickly became the least of her worries when she chanced a look back at Sam as she neared the door. The faint sound of struggle registered in her brain, and as she turned, she caught sight of two men dragging Sam towards the back of a camper parked directly behind the Firebird. Her stomach instantly dropped as her mind caught up with her eyes, quickly followed by her feet following after. She was sprinting towards them as her heartrate kicked back into overdrive, instinctively reaching for her gun, only to realize she had left it stashed in her duffle bag.
"HEY!" she screamed as she rushed towards them, catching sight of Sam's bloodied forehead and slack face. The two men were trying to haul his limp body up into the camper when their heads snapped around in her direction. She slammed into the one nearest her at full speed, sending the two of them toppling to the ground in a tangled mess. The gravel bit into Ariella's side painfully as she fell, suddenly wishing she had not drunk and smoked so much. Her reaction time was far from what it would normally be, and as she tried pushing herself back up something slammed into the bottom of her chin.
The pain was blinding. She felt her teeth slam together, blood filling her mouth with the taste of copper as they bit into her tongue. She saw stars for a moment as she was thrust backwards from the blow, and before she could even react, someone was on top of her. Something was pressed into her face then, covering both her nose and mouth completely. She briefly registered a strong smell as she struggled under the weight of the large man on top of her, before and any hope of saving Sam evaporated as she was thrust into darkness.
Inside, Dean had continued throwing darts while he waited for Ariella to return. He threw one after the other, but after finishing his drink, and even going to the bathroom, she still hadn't returned. Figuring she had bailed on him and ended up just heading to the motel with Sam, he let out a sigh as he grabbed his jacket. Truthfully, he had been looking forward to spending some alone time with her and was a bit disappointed she had decided to bail. The two of them had spent the past few weeks testing the waters of their relationship, but they never really got time alone that didn't involve killing something or having Sam tag along.
He supposed that was their life, however. They would never be the typical 'dinner and movies' couple. Their life was just too…complicated. To be honest, he wasn't even sure they could classify themselves as a couple, either. Calling Ariella his girlfriend just felt wrong. She was just…Ari. And other than the one confession on her part, any serious talks of love had been nonexistent. That was what made them fit so well together, however. Neither one of them liked getting into those chic-flick moments. They had always preferred to let their bodies do the talking.
He let out a sigh as he pushed the door open, stepping outside into the dark as another set of thoughts began to hound him. Having alone time with Ariella was honestly the least of his problems. Ever since the case in Michigan, his mind had been a whirlwind of worries over Sam. The powers that seemed to be manifesting in him were far from the awe-inspiring superhero-like powers in all the movies. Their origins were demonic. And he was scared….scared about what that meant about Sam.
He shook his head to clear the thoughts as he pulled out his keys, but as he made it to the Impala, the car still sitting next to it caused him to come to a sudden halt. Ariella's Firebird was still parked in the same spot it had been earlier. Dean's eyebrows pulled together in confusion as he swung his head around, looking for Sam and Ariella. The lot was empty. The edges of worry began to blossom in his chest as he moved towards the car, letting his fingers trail over the hood of it to test the temperature. It was cold, which meant it hadn't been running recently. A glint of metal on the ground between the two cars caught his attention then, and he moved towards it, reaching down to snag up a set of keys. Ariella's keys.
That worry in his chest morphed into full-blown panic as he spun around the empty lot. "SAM? ARI?" he called out loudly, eyes straining against the darkness for any signs of them. His mind was reeling with possibilities as he continued calling for them, trying to come up with any rational reason they would be gone. After wondering if they had gone back inside and he had just missed them, he did another sweep in the bar, only to discover they weren't there either.
He was in a full-blown panic as he moved back through the parking lot, stopping anyone he could find to ask if they had seen them. No matter how many people he stopped, however, no one seemed to have seen anything. It was like they had vanished out of thin air. His stomach dropped even lower with realization that they hadn't just disappeared…they had to have been taken. They had gone from investigating the latest case to becoming the latest case. Sam and Ariella were gone.