Defenders of the Night

32. Born Under a Bad Sign

UNDERPASS

Dean was on his phone, leaning against his car. He was fidgeting and upset. Lana was holding his hand, trying to comfort him.

"Ellen, it's me again. Any chance you've heard from him?" He paused. "I swear, it's like looking for my dad all over again. We're losing our minds here." He paused again. "No, Lana and I've called him a thousand times, there's nothing but voicemail. We don't know where he went, or why. Sam's just gone." He phone beeped. "Hang on."

Dean got a call from Sam and answered. "Sammy? Where the hell are you? Are you okay?" He paused. "Hey, hey, hey! Calm down. Where are you? All right, don't move, Lana, Rose and I are on our way."

Lana stroked Dean's cheek. "I told you we'd find him."

Dean smiled at her. "Thank you."

"Always. Now let's go help your brother."

MOTEL

Sam hung up the phone slowly, looking numb. His knuckles were bloody.

Dean, Rose and Lana drove to reach Sam, passing a sign that read TWIN LAKES. They arrived at the hotel and parked and got out.

Dean, holding his sleeping daughter, and Lana walked frantically down a narrow hallway, checking door numbers until they reached room 109 and knocked.

"Sam, it's us. Sam!" Dean called.

Lana tried the door to find it open. Sam was sitting numbly on the bed.

"Sam?" Dean called. "Hey."

"Hey, Dean. Hey, Lana," Sam replied.

Dean laid Rose on the other bed and knelt beside him. "Are you bleeding?"

"I tried to wash it off."

Dean saw Sam's shirt covered in blood and groped at it, searching for a wound. "Oh my God."

"I don't think it's my blood."

"Whose is it?" Lana questioned.

"I don't know."

"Sam, what the hell happened?" Dean asked.

Sam finally looked up. "Dean. Lana. I don't remember anything."

Dean and Lana left the room.

Later, Dean and Lana returned to the room, the former carrying a grocery bag.

"What'd you two find out?" Sam asked.

"You checked in two days ago under the name Richard Sambora," Dean told him. "Of course, I think the scariest part about this whole thing is the fact that you're a Bon Jovi fan-"

"Dean."

"Your room's been quiet, nobody's noticed anything unusual."

"You mean no one saw me walking around covered in blood?"

"Yeah. That's what I mean."

"Then how the hell did I get here, Dean, Lana? What happened to me."

Lana leaned against the counter as she said, "We don't know. But you're okay, and that's what matters. Everything else we can deal with."

"Oh really? 'Cause what if I hurt someone? Or worse?"

"Sam..." Dean began.

"What if this is what Dad warned you about?"

"Hey, whoa, whoa, come on man, let's not jump the gun here. We don't know what happened. We've just got to treat this like, like any other job. What's the last thing you remember?"