Hi guys! Back at you with another chapter! Please be aware that this chapter comes with a trigger warning. I don't go into horrific detail or anything, but there are strong hints of SA, so just take caution before proceeding. I mean, this episode is pretty fucked up to begin with, so just know that this is definitely a mature rated chapter. With that said, I'll let you get to it. As always, I hope you guys know just how much I appreciate your continued time/support! :) Xoxo-NickyLynn
Ariella had been in a lot of terrifying situations in her life. She had faced nearly every kind of monster and had suffered through countless moments of fear, many of them perpetually haunting her worst of nightmares. Yet, nothing she had previously encountered could compare to the horror she felt as she dangled from the rafters of the basement she had woken up in. She had regained consciousness nearly an hour ago now, groggy from what she assumed had been chloroform, only to find herself alone in a musty and filthy basement. The things she found herself surrounded by sent her deeper into the throughs of fear with each item her gaze fell upon. There were countless shelves, lined with rows and rows of body parts, floating in a sickly green liquid. There were bloodied weapons laid out before her of every variety, some with blood so dried it likely as been there for years, while others were so fresh, she could still see the light glisten off the slick surface. Worst of all, however, were the pictures she had been strung up in front of. Whoever had taken her and Sam were hunters. Only it wasn't slain deer or other wildlife that the men within the images were posing with. They were humans. The faces of countless murdered men were staring back at her with lifeless eyes, all of which were being held up pridefully by her captors.
She had emptied the contents of her stomach shortly after waking, the smell of mold and blood along with the thought of her or Sam's carcass pictured alongside the others sending the remnants of alcohol still sitting in her stomach to the floor below her. She didn't just solve the case she and the Winchesters had been working in connection to all the missing persons…she had become a part of it. And the hardest reality to swallow was that it wasn't some supernatural creature doing the killings…it was people. People who were more monstrous than anything she had ever hunted before.
After what had felt like hours of dangling from the meat hook drilled into the ceiling, toes barely dragging along the cement floor as her thoughts circled worriedly around Sam, the door creaked open behind her. Her heart began to hammer against her ribcage as heavy footsteps echoed down the stairwell, each one painstakingly slow. She focused on her breathing, doing her best to keep it flowing in and out evenly as she worked at keeping her fear at bay.
"You're awake." Came the deep voice of a man, words colored with a strong hick accent. A moment later the man stepped into view, and although it wasn't one of the men she had remembered taking her and Sam, he was one of the ones pictured with all the dead men. He was older, perhaps nearing his fifties, rough beard and what hair she could see under his cap graying with age. Neither his clothes nor skin seemed to have been washed in ages, as a thick layer of grim covered him nearly head to toe. The stench rolling off of him was enough to turn her stomach yet again, and, as his lips pulled back over his teeth, flashing her a wide, rotting smile which smelled of decay, she would have actually vomited again had her stomach not already been empty. She doubted this man owned a bar of soap, let alone a toothbrush.
"It's been a long time since the boys found a pretty little thing like you." He crooned, eyes raking over her as his grin stretched wider. If Ariella could, she would have scrubbed away the feeling that look left on her skin. That urge grew even more so when he reached forward to grab hold of her chin and tipped her head back into the light. "Sure are a lot purdier than the last one." He commented as she glared at him, doing her best to bite her tongue of snide remarks. As sick as he was making her, she had to tread carefully. This man was dangerous, and she was currently defenseless to him.
"You a fighter, ain't you?" he asked then, eyes narrowing on her slanted ones in delight. "Boys sad you gave 'em a hell of a time pickin' you up. That's real good. Means you got good genes in ya." He told her in a sickly satisfied voice as Ariella pulled her chin free from his hold with a sharp tug.
"How many?" she chose to ask, watching as he moved towards the table in front of her, busying himself by messing with the blades left strewn across it. "How many people have you killed?"
His eyes slid from her over to the pictures strung up before them. "Ah….the numbers start blurring together after a while, but I reckon it'd probably be close to fifty by now." He answered, that sick grin of his returning as if he were something to be proud of. Ariella's stomach dropped. "Been hunting all my life, ya know." He continued. "But there ain't nothing more excitin' than hunting a human. Been a tradition in the family, you could say. Learned it from my Daddy, and now I'm passin' it down to my own kin." He said, motioning to a picture which displayed the two men who had taken them. They must have been his sons, she gathered.
"You hunt people for kicks?" she asked with a sneer, the mere thought of it turning her stomach. "So, that's what you're going to do with us?"
"That big one they brought in with ya, sure." He replied with a shrug, turning back towards her with one of the blades in his hold. "But you—" he said, aiming the tip at her. "Well, humans got more use in 'em than just huntin'…and like I said…you got good genes in ya."
Ariella wasn't sure which upset her more—the thought of Sam's picture hanging up there with the others, lifeless eyes staring back at her….or her being used to breed like cattle. "You touch me or Sam and I will kill you." She seethed in a shaky voice, a mixture of fear and rage swirling within her.
The man only cackled in response, clearly taking no heed to the threat. "Oh, I'm gonna have some fun with you." He said darkly, tongue darting out along his bottom lip as he began to edge the blade towards the skin of her clavicle. "And don't worry….I like it when they scream."
Dean had spent the remainder of the night after discovering Sam and Ariella missing in a blind panic. After paying off the owner of the bar to ensure Ariella's car wouldn't get towed, he drove up and down the nearby highway just hoping he would come across anything that would give him a clue to go on. No matter how long he spent looking, however, he found nothing. It was like they had vanished out of thin air. There had been a traffic cam mounted near the bar he had hoped caught something, but, unfortunately, he would need to go through the sheriff's office if he wanted access to the feed. His stolen badge could only get him so far. So, he waited out the night until he could get in and make an official report, thoughts spiraling deeper and deeper the longer he let himself conjure what had been happening to the two of them. As soon as the morning light rolled around, he was at the station, standing in front of the officer on duty while he tried to finesse his way into accessing the security feed.
"You sure the two of them didn't run off together or something?" the female officer taking his statement supplied skeptically, arching an eyebrow at him as he recanted his story. "That kind of stuff happens more than you'd believe."
"Sam and Ari?" Dean questioned in response, voice rising with the absurdity of it. "No." he denied with a firm shake of his head. "Two of them are like siblings." He explained, honestly grossed out by the notion of it. "Besides, Ari would never leave her car like that. She's nearly as protective of it as I am with mine, and believe me, that is saying something. They didn't leave…they were taken." He maintained.
The officer studied him for a moment before nodding her head. "Alright." She said, moving further back towards the smaller desk behind the front counter, dropping herself down in front of the computer sitting on top of it. "What are their names?" she asked while punching in a few keys to log into the system.
"Winchester." Dean answered as he moved to follow, dropping himself down on the chair opposite her. "Sam Winchester."
"Like the rifle?" The officer asked as she began typing it in.
"Like the rifle." He echoed in confirmation.
"And the girl?" the officer asked then.
"Ariella Singer."
Of course, that wasn't her true name. Ariella's family name had been Harper. But, seeing as that name was tied to a whole list of open crimes, she had taken on Bobby's name in an effort to rebuild an identity for herself. Dean remembered her telling him once that she preferred Bobby's name anyhow. She hardly had any memories of her mother, and even less so of her dad. Harper had always been the name of a stranger.
"Well, let's see here." The officer murmured as her eyes swept over the screen as the results were generated. "You know that his brother, Dean Winchester, is wanted for murder, right?" she asked in shock, wide eyes snapping from the screen over to him. "Over in St. Louis. Looks like he's wanted for the kidnapping and attempted murder of this Ariella Singer, too. You think he has anything to do with this?" she asked, eyebrows pulling together worriedly.
"Oh. Yeah…right." Dean responded awkwardly, realizing the messy predicament the shifter had left them in. "He, uh…actually committed suicide." He said in cover.
"Really?" she asked, eyes moving back onto the screen. "I'm not pulling up a death certificate on him."
"Right, well, they never found the body." He said with a wave of his hand. "He sent off a suicide note to us beforehand…just couldn't handle the guilt, I guess. I really don't think this has anything to do with him though." He told her quickly, hoping to brush that particular skeleton under the rug. "Seeing as so many missing persons have been coming out of this area, I'm leaning towards it being something local."
"R-right." The officer said, not sounding entirely convinced on the matter. "Well, either way they're not turning up in any current field reports." She told him with a dip of her bottom lip.
"Oh, I already have a lead." Dean supplied as he sat forward in her seat, already figuring they wouldn't be turning up in any hospitals. "I saw a surveillance camera out by the highway."
"Uh-huh. County traffic cam." She said, head bobbing in understanding.
"Yeah, I'm thinking the camera picked up whatever took them." He reasoned. "Or..uh—whoever." He quickly amended.
"Well, I have access to the traffic cam footage down at the county works department, but—" she said, pushing up from her desk before rummaging through some paperwork behind her. "In the meantime, let's do this the right way." She said, grabbing hold of what she had been searching for before turning back towards Dean. "Why don't you fill out a missing person's report." She instructed, handing him over the clipboard and pen. "And sit tight over there."
Dean took the clipboard from her, having to fight off the wave of frustration that filled him at the tediousness of the whole process. Sam and Ariella were in the clutches of God only knew what, and every second he spent jumping though all these hoops meant another second they could be suffering…or worse. "Uh…look." He said as he tapped the clipboard against his palm, letting out a heavy sigh. "These two are my family….my only family…" he admitted. "You've got to let me go with you." He pressed.
"I'm sorry. I can't do that." She told him with a shake of her head, sounding genuinely apologetic.
Dean tried not to let his deflation show at that. "Tell me something." He said instead. "Your county has it's fair share of missing people….any of them ever come back?" The officer's eyes became clouded over in response to that, the muscle of her jaw twitching as her gaze dropped to the floor. And, of course, that was all the answer he needed. "See, Sam and Ari…they're my responsibility….and they're coming back." He vowed. "I'm gonna do whatever it takes to bring them back."
Sam had never been as good of fighter as either Dean or Ariella, but when it came to solving cases and thinking himself out of tough situations—he had always excelled above them. His mind was his greatest tool, and he had been raking it for answers since waking in the confines of a small, steel cage. He didn't know how much time had passed since being knocked unconscious, as there were but slim streams of light filtering in from between the wooden boards of the dark room he was being kept in, but judging by the thick scab on the back of his head, he had to assume it had been several hours at least. He didn't know where he was or what had taken him. The fuzzy bits of his last memory hadn't been much to go on either. Something had swept his feet out from under him as he tried getting into Ari's car, followed by the shadow of a large figure quickly sweeping over him before darkness consumed him completely.
He had woken in a panic, only to realize he had been thrown into a cage not even big enough to fully sit upright within, most likely being kept as something's next meal. He wasn't the only one either. Across from him sat another cage, the same as his, which held another man—a man who, coincidently, seemed to match the description of the latest missing person they had been investigating. It was difficult to tell if he was even breathing through the dim light, Sam just hoped he was only unconscious and not already dead.
He had begun prying against the bars around him, trying to free himself through sheer force, but, after realizing the strong metal would not give no matter how hard he pushed or kicked against it, he had retreated into the depths of his mind as he worked through his limited options. Surely Dean and Ariella would be looking for him by now, he reasoned. He just had to keep himself alive long enough for them to find him.
After what had felt like hours of him sitting in the silence alone, the man across from him began letting out a string of groans, pulling Sam's focus onto him as he regained consciousness. "You're alive!" he exclaimed in relief, moving up against the bars to get a better look at the man as he pushed himself back up with a grunt. "Hey, you okay?" he asked worriedly.
"Does it look like I'm doing okay?" the man snapped back at him in a scratchy voice, throat probably raw from yelling for help.
"Where are we?" Sam asked then, hoping he knew more about their captors, seeing as it had been a couple days since his disappearance.
"I don't know." He responded, unfortunately. "Country, I think." He supplied. "Smells like the country, at least."
"You're Alvin Jenkins, aren't you?"
"Y-yeah." The man confirmed, eliciting a dry chuckle from Sam.
"I've been looking for you." He told him truthfully, shaking his head at the irony of ending up alongside him.
"Well, no offense, but this is a piss-poor rescue." Alvin tossed back at him with a huff.
"Don't worry." Sam assured him. "I've got people out there looking for me right now and it's only a matter of time before they find us."
"Find us?" the man scoffed. "We're in the middle of nowhere, man. Waiting for them to come back and do God knows what to us." He said, tilting his head towards the large door Sam assumed lead outside.
"What are they?" he pressed, eyes flicking back onto the man. "Have you seen them?"
"What are you talking about?" he asked, confusion evident in his tone.
"Whatever took us." Sam explained. "What did it look like?"
Just then, a loud clanking sound echoed through the room, alerting them to the sound of someone unlatching the door. Sam's heartrate kicked up a notch as his wide eyes snapped back over to it, watching as something door pulled open, its old hinges screeching in protest. He pressed himself up against the bars, trying to get a better view as a couple of figures stepped inside. Unfortunately, they had hoods pulled up over their heads, concealing their features from his view as they moved further into the room.
He watched as one moved towards a post in the center of the room, flipping open a small electrical box before a loud buzzing sounded. The lock on Alvin's cage slid open in response. The other figure moved towards the cage, pulling the door open all the way as Alvin scrambled as far into the back corner as he could. "Get away from me!" he demanded in a shaky voice. "Don't touch me!"
The figure didn't say anything in response. He merely slid a metal try of food into the cage silently before slamming the door shut again. The lock slid back into place with another loud buzzing sound as he stepped away. He moved towards Sam's cage then, pulling what looked like a crowbar out from under his cloak before slamming it against the metal. Sam cringed away from the loud bang, but just before the figure turned away, a beam of light hit his face, lighting up his features. And to Sam's shock…it was no monster….it was a man. The two men moved back towards the door without saying anything, leaving Sam and Alvin alone in the darkness as they locked the door behind them once again.
"I'll be damned." Sam muttered in disbelief as he stared after them. "They're just people."
"Yeah." Alvin scoffed as he lunged for the plate of provided food, scarfing it down like he hadn't eaten in days. "What else did you expect?" he asked through a mouthful of meat.
It took Sam a minute to process that before he shook his head. "How often do they feed you?" he asked, realizing it might be easier to escape than he had previously thought.
"Once a day." He answered, motioning towards the electrical box one of the men had been messing with. "They use that thing over there to open the gates."
Sam followed his line of sight over to the fuse box, following the wiring coming out of it, leading directing to their cages. "Have they said anything to you?" he questioned as he moved towards the thick bundle of wiring integrated into the side the cage. "What do they want?"
"They're a bunch of psycho hillbilly rednecks." He scoffed in response as Sam began pulling against the wiring. "Looking for love in all the wrong places!"
Sam shook his head at that. "I don't think they're after love, man." He groaned as he pried against the tube, hoping he could disconnect it and short-circuit the lock.
"Oh, yeah?" Alvin asked knowingly. "Well, you didn't hear the nasty shit they were saying about the girl they got locked up inside when they dumped you in here."
That caused Sam to freeze. "What girl?" he asked, stomach doing a flip at his words.
Alvin shrugged in response. "Some girl they picked up about the same time as you." He answered.
Sam felt a surge of panic rise in response to that. His mouth fell open as the faint memory of Ariella screaming his name echoed through the back of his mind. "Ari…"
Inside, Ariella hung limply from the bindings around her wrists, doing her best to keep her mind empty. Her eyes had been glued to the array of weapons laid out before her, picturing each and every one of them buried into the man who had left her hours ago. Her mind had become hyper focused on one thing only—making the twisted son of a bitch suffer for what he had done to her. Anger burned inside her hotter than ever before, blanketing her mind in nothing but a dangerous silence.
The basement door creaked back open then, pulling Ariella's hardened eyes away from the blade she had been staring at as she braced herself for another confrontation. To her surprise, however, the footsteps sounded far lighter than a grown man's. A girl stepped into her one of sight after a moment, causing a flicker of shock to bubble to the surface as she took in her young and dirty features. She couldn't have been older than thirteen, but the way her eyes roamed over Ariella anxiously gave her more of an appearance of that of a startled animal than of a teenager.
"Daddy's right." The girl muttered quietly as she circled around Ariella curiously. "Ya sure are pretty."
Ariella's eyes flicked to the side to listen for anyone coming before she let her eyes fall back on the girl. "What's your name?" she croaked as a small sliver of hope welled up inside her.
"Kate." The girl answered, tipping her head to the side like a confused dog. "What's yours?"
"Hi Kate." Ariella told her, doing her best to pull a smile across her lips. "I'm Ari. Do you…do you think you could help me, Kate?" she asked hesitantly, doing her best to keep her voice low, as to not risk the man upstairs overhearing their conversation.
The girl instantly shook her head back and forth. "Daddy says you gotta stay down here." She said, taking a step closer as she reached out with dirt-covered fingers. "You're more prettier than momma was." She said, fingers brushing against Ariella's cheek. "Daddy got mad at her for not giving him a boy." She explained as her fingers dropped down to her bare stomach, brushing along it next. "So you gotta give me a brother, okay?"
Ariella had to fight off the surge of emotions that were rushing through her, causing her chest to rise up and down unevenly. "This is wrong, Kate." She said, knowing this girl might be her only hope of escape. "You've got to help me get out of here." She pleaded shakily. "I'll get you out of here." She promised, trying not to imagine the horrors she must have been subjected to.
Kate's hollow eyes flicked over her face, and Ariella could see something flicker behind them. That small rise of hope grew in response, but just as her mouth dropped open to plead with her more, a loud voice echoed through the house above them, calling out Kate's name in a sharp demand. The girl's eyes snapped up to the floorboards above them before she took a step back towards the stairs. "Wait!" Ariella nearly yelled, that hope now flickering away as the girl moved back towards the stairs in a hurry. "Please!"
The sound of the girl's feet pounding back up the stairs filled the room as Ariella thrashed against the thick rope holding her securely in place. "KATE!" The door slammed shut then, extinguishing Ariella's hope completely like a bucket of water begin thrown on a flame. She screamed as her previous rage returned full-force, mind zeroing right back in onto all the things she was going to do once she managed to get the hell out of there. And she was going to get out of there…she just had to figure out how the hell she was going to do it.