Chapter 8
About Two Weeks Earlier
John put the weapons into the bag and looked over at his sons that were standing nearby. The oldest one had a sour look on his face because he didn't want to be left behind. The youngest one scuffed at the thread bare carpet and kept his gaze down. Neither spoke as he finished packing so he could head out on a possible case.
"You boys stay in the room with the door double locked," John instructed Dean. "You watch out for your brother, Dean."
"Yes sir," Dean replied respectfully. "Are you sure you don't need backup? I could come with you and Sammy could stay in the car."
"It's too dangerous Dean. I don't want either of you caught in the crossfire or anything."
"But Dad…"
"Dean, you do as you're told," John ordered in a stern, commanding voice that left no room for discussion. "I'll be back in three or four days if all goes well. There's food you can heat up by the microwave."
"Yes sir," Dean grunted trying to control his anger at being left behind. He couldn't help but feel resentment sometimes toward his little brother because it all fell on him to take care of and to protect him.
Everything changed when Sammy read their father's journal and learned about what he really did, and that the world was filled with monsters. After that time, John had started training both his sons to be warriors and hunters, to follow in his footsteps, the family business. He pushed them harder than most fathers because their lives might depend on them being able to defend themselves. John could already tell that Dean was a natural born hunter, but Sammy was different. He was too sensitive and couldn't hide his emotions like his brother. He did excel in doing research and John let him do most of it.
"Be careful Dad," Sammy finally spoke up as John picked up his bags to leave.
"I will Sammy. You mind your brother."
"Yes sir," Sammy mumbled quietly.
John gave his boys one final look before opening the door of the motel room and going to his black Impala to leave. He stored his bags and cranked the car, letting it idle for a few minutes before putting it in gear and driving away. He didn't like leaving his boys like this but there was no other option for him. John was too far away from anyone that he trusted to leave them with someone. He had to keep them safe from the monsters that inhabited the world.
Spn
It was a long and tiring drive to Batesville, Arkansas for John since he drove straight through only stopped to take a nap at a rest area before continuing. Deciding the best thing to do was get a motel room until the next day and start checking the possible case then. He found a cheap motel to check into for a few days as a base. His senses were off from his long trip, or he would have picked up on the guy that had been watching him since he entered the town limits of Batesville.
John pulled his car around the motel to the courtyard and found his room number so he could park in front of it. He got out and grabbed his bags before going to the door and unlocking it to go inside. He dropped his bags to the side and went to the bathroom first and then salted the door and window before turning down the bed. After shedding his clothes, John climbed between the almost clean sheets and settled in with a long sigh. It didn't take him long to drift into a restless sleep. Ever since his wife had been murdered, John had not had a good night's sleep. It was filled with nightmares of reliving the death of Mary, his wife, over and over again. He thought as the years passed, it would get better, but it didn't.
After only a few hours of sleep, John suddenly jerked awake as he gasped for air while letting the dream fade away. He lay there drawing in deep, slow breaths to calm his racing heart. John wiped a shaking hand down his face to remove the droplets of sweat covering his brow. He wasn't sure what was triggering the return of the nightmares now since he hadn't had one in a while.
He settled back onto the pillow again and listened to the odd sounds around him, never liking being in a new place because he didn't recognize them. He was always on edge the first night in a new motel room. Since it looked like he wasn't going right back to sleep, John started going over in his head what he knew so far about the possible case in this town. It wasn't much, but he hoped to gather more when morning came, and he could start his investigation.
Spn
John loosened his tie from around his neck as he stepped from the police station and headed for his car. He had posed as an FBI agent to get a foot in the door and get the necessary information he needed. They hesitated about turning over their files until John pressured them a little. He left with the files in his hand and got into the Impala, deciding to find a place for a cup of coffee and to look at them.
The car pulled from the parking lot and headed downtown to find a diner since they usually had good food and drink. It didn't take him long before he pulled into a parking lot and parked. John gathered the files and walked toward the front door. He went inside and chose a table away from the other customers so he would have some privacy. A waitress came by and served him coffee and took his breakfast order.
His hunter instincts kicked in, as John began to read the first file. He sipped his coffee as he read, pausing to mark places in the file that was of interest to him. It wasn't long before his food was brought and he began to eat, not really tasting it but knew he needed to eat when he could. In this job, you learned quickly to eat and sleep when you could because there might be long stretches it didn't happen.
He stayed at the diner long enough to read all the files and decided to check out a couple of the places where the victims disappeared from. John signaled for the waitress to get his bill and paid. He grabbed a free map of the area before heading out and was going to use it to find the locations.
Spn
John drove down a gravel road and kept looking for the address until he finally saw the road he needed and turned onto a dirt road. The area was isolated and a great place for someone to be taken or killed. He pulled up to some abandoned buildings and killed the engine before getting out. He made sure he was armed and cautiously headed for the buildings to check them out.
The buildings were rundown, there were windows broken out, shingles missing from the roof, vines claiming the structures as they crept up the sides, and doors chained to keep unwanted people out. John walked down the side of the first building but didn't see anything disturbed so he continued to the next one. He found a door that had broken vines laying around it like someone had ripped them out of the way so he could get inside.
After pulling his gun, John made his way inside the structure to look around. He could hear animals scurrying around trying to hide from him as he searched for clues that the police might have missed. There wasn't much light shining into the area through the dirt covered windows and the place was cloaked in shadows and inches of dust, cobwebs, and debris. He found yellow crime scene tape toward the back of the large room and inspected the space. Not seeing anything of interest, John headed back toward the door where he had come in.
As John stepped back into the bright sunlight, he was blinded for a moment and that was all it took. He sensed the person too late to defend himself and was knocked out, his body crumbling to the ground. Two men grabbed John's unconscious body and drug him to a ratty van where they tied him up, removed any weapons he had, and tossed him in the back. One drove the van and the other snagged John's keys and got into the car to drive it. They drove from the site and picked up the gravel road heading west away from the town.
A/N: Will help arrive in time? Thank you for coming on this journey and thank you to any guests who have left reviews. I do live reviews/comments. NC