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Everyone was quiet as they went back upstairs. Dean wrestled with what he could have done different to avoid his family being taken. He knew that Milton had to be at the center of the disappearances, but he wasn’t sure how or why. I will find out. I’ll get back my family, I have to.
“Don’t do anything rash,” Sam said as he looked at his brother.
The all sat down at the kitchen table before Sam and Erin looked at Dean.
“So what happened after we talked to you?” Erin asked.
Dean shrugged, “Last I remember I was sitting on the bed after I saw that the twins were gone. I woke up after I heard noise upstairs a while ago to see I was in the basement. I have no idea why but I believe Mom had something to do with it.”
“Why do you say that?” Sam asked desperation in his voice.
“Because she was there before I woke up it was like she was watching over me to make sure someone would come to help me….. then”
“What?”
“She touched me when I was weakest and she was crying. She said. that she had to go now, afterward I felt better.”
Erin and Sam looked at each other.
“No I didn’t imagine it. I don’t know much but maybe she was the presence you felt before Sam.”
“Okay, now back to what happened,” Sam said as he changed the subject.
He wondered why Dean had a chance to see his mother and he hadn’t. I’m her baby, I’m the one who never had a chance to know her, he complained to himself before he recalled that the others could probably hear his thoughts.
“It wasn’t my choice,” Dean said in his mind as he looked at Sam.
Sam sighed as he brought his emotions under control.
Dean explained about Milton’s visit and how he had reset the salt lines before he went back inside the house.
“Dean no matter what this isn’t your fault,” Erin insisted.
“Whatever, enough talking we have to get to the job of finding them,” Dean said as he glared at his siblings.
“Hey, you’re right. Okay so if Milton is involved somehow maybe his anger or desire for Ari has opened him up to demons,” Sam suggested.
Erin nodded, “Yeah that might be it, he could be being used by them because you know…”
She let the sentence drop as she bit her lip. She was about to blame Dean and he didn’t need it; it was bad enough he probably heard her thought in his head though he did not outwardly respond. He only reached for the notepad on the refrigerator then sat back down with a pen.
“So he may have other properties I will check it out online, I doubt if he would have them at his house somewhere,” Sam said as he got up to leave the room.
Erin got up to make some coffee, just for something to do.
Dean made notes of what he could remember until Erin wandered out of the room. As soon as she was around the corner, he was out the back door. Sam and Erin heard when the Impala started up and they looked at one another.
“We have to stop him he might kill Milton,” Sam said as they rushed outside to see the car as it sped out of the yard.
Dean was beyond caring about being calm. He was “pissed off”, he didn’t really care if it was Milton’s fault or not. The man had baited him and now he was going to retaliate.
When he arrived at the man’s house, it looked dark but that was fine with Dean. He banged on the door and Milton came to the door in his pajamas. Dean grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against the front door before Milton could speak. Milton was not quite as tall as Dean but he was a hair shorter, he attempted to push back but Dean held him tight. Then he punched Milton in the ribs as he yelled at him.
“Where is Ari? Why did you take them? How could you be involved with Demons?”
At the mention of demons Milton leaned up from his crunched over position and hit Dean in the mouth with his two hands clasped together. Dean was thrown off balance but did not fall. He swung up and hit Milton in his face just as Sam and Erin arrived.
“Dean, stop,” Sam said as he ran toward the two men, though Dean ignored his brother’s protests.
Sam pulled the two men apart a second later. He was afraid Milton would press charges against Dean, which would only delay them finding his family. Dean was breathing heavy as he glared at his brother while Milton glared at Dean.
Erin was the first to speak after she came up behind Sam.
“Hey everyone okay?”
Milton backed up from the brothers as he rubbed his jaw.
“You know you can’t blame me if your wife left you,” he said before Dean lunged at him again.
Sam rolled his eyes at Erin before he reached to pull Dean off Milton again.
“Stop it you two,” he shouted.
Dean pushed at Sam’s hands as he turned to go back to his car.
“I oughta call the cops on you,” Milton yelled at Dean’s retreating back.
Sam groaned. “He is just upset, don’t call them okay,” Sam begged.
Milton looked at Sam and Erin as he sighed heavily.
“Fine you all just get out of here, NOW,” he shouted.
---
Milton kept up the pretense of anger as they drove out of the yard. Once he was back inside the house, he couldn’t stop laughing or at least the demon that was hidden deep inside him could not stop. Milton was only a vessel that was being used to get back at the Winchesters. From the moment, Ari had entered his life Milton’s lust had grown until he became nothing but a useful tool for those out to make Sam Winchester not only an only child but the last man standing in his family. The demons knew if Sam had his family members around to support him they would never be able to control him. The more the Winchesters sought family and normality the more of them would be in danger.
Back at the house Alec and Ben arrived with a desire to help with the hunting. They drove into the drive and parked the car to get out.
“They should have been back way before now,” Ben said as he looked over at Alec who had scooted down in the seat to take a snooze while he prepared to wait.
“Maybe they went to eat,” Alec said before he yawned.
Ben wasn’t convinced as he looked around the perimeter. Neither realized they should have checked the salt line they disturbed with the car as the drove in the gravel drive. It was barely two minutes until the car began to shake as the demons shook it. Just a little game to make it more entertaining before they killed them.
“What the hell?” Alec asked as he raised up in his seat to look around and saw dark shadows on all sides of the car.
“An earthquake maybe?” Ben said as he looked around also.
Then suddenly as it began; it stopped. The black smoke seeped in the doors as it overwhelmed them. Black hands reached to squeeze their necks. They both fought back with all they had. A second later the torture stopped. They sat grasping for air as Sam tapped on the window.
“Hey you okay in there?”
Erin came around to open the door for Alec after she reset the salt lines automatically.
“You guys okay?”
“What happened?” Alec asked.
“Yea, I thought we were dead,” Ben said as he looked unbelievingly at Sam.
Sam shook his head, it was a freaky sight to see the demons scatter when he showed up. Even he didn’t have any reason as to why they would do that he was glad that they had gone. He went in the barn to get another bag of salt as Erin lead the others into the house carefully avoiding the lines near the back door. Sam stayed watch as he waited for Dean to get back. He wouldn’t be comfortable until they were all safe and sound for the night.
Dean had decided to take a drive but he wasn’t going to wail and lament this time he wanted a drink so he went to the bowling alley/bar and was prepared to go in but once he arrived he lost his thirst. He sat in the car as he thought back to the night he met Arianna. She had mesmerized him with her soft curls and easy smile, her sense of humor had also been a good draw. He sighed as he realized he was drifting and it wouldn’t do for Dean Winchester to break down in public. He reached out to open his door and didn’t notice someone was walking by. He hit the woman in the leg.
“OUCH,” she said as she glared at him with bright blue eyes.
Dean apologized as he got out of the car.
“Oops I didn’t see you,” he said with a smirk.
Her long wavy brown hair hung on around her shoulders and she didn’t look hurt. She looked beautiful. Her short skirt and low cut top emphasized all her curves in all the right places.
“Seriously, you need to be more careful,” she said as she moved to go into the bar but she smiled back at him.
Dean hesitated. She was attractive but he wasn’t at the bar to get laid, he had important work to do he should go home. He reached for his car door to get back inside.
“Hey sugar, you aren’t coming?”
“Not tonight,” he said as he got in the Impala and drove away.
“Too bad,” she said under her breath.
On the way back Dean got a call from Megan.
“Hi Daddy,” she said with a sigh.
“Hey Baby Girl,” he said with a smile in his voice to cover the loss that suddenly hit him at the thought of the children he needed desperately to find.
“I miss you Daddy,” Megan said as Cassie played with the little girl’s hair.
“Well I miss you too,” he said as he wondered if he should tell Cassie what had happened even though he knew she was doing her best to keep their daughter safe already.
“I want to visit now, Daddy.”
“Just a couple more weeks okay?” Dean said, he hoped in his heart all would be well by then.
Megan was quiet on the other end of the phone and he wondered what was going on.
“Meg?” Cassie said in the background.
“Megan?” Dean said.
Cassie took the phone from the little girl and looked in her eyes. She seemed far away as though she heard something.
“Rae?” Megan said
Cassie was concerned Megan had begun to zone out more than usual the last day or so.
“Honey, who is Rae?” Cassie asked.
Megan looked at her mother confused.
“Hello?” Dean said.
“Um, hold on okay,” Cassie said as Megan smiled up at her as Cassie dressed her daughter for bed before putting her in the bed with her.
“Rae is the baby, one of the boys.”
Megan smiled as she settled down with her head on the pillow.
“I’ll be right back okay,” Cassie said as Megan nodded.
“Cassie, what the hell is going on?”
Cassie sat down in the floor outside her room with the door cracked a bit.
“I don’t know, Meg, has begun to zone out on me. It’s like… I don’t know she is hearing something that I cannot hear.”
“Has she told you anything about what is going on?”
“Dean she isn’t even four she probably has no idea but just now she did mention Rae and said it was one of the boys.”
“One of the boys? You mean the twins?”
“I don’t know.”
“Cassie, Ari and the children are gone.”
“What? She left you?” She asked with a bit of hope in her voice that wasn’t missed by Dean.
“She was taken, we believe by the demons but we know it was supernatural.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, but I’m sure they will be fine, ….you will find them.”
“That is the plan but has Megan mentioned this Rae before?”
“No not until now.”
“Maybe she means Braeden, unless you know of someone named Rae.”
“No I don’t.”
For a few minutes they discussed the implications of Megan having some type of communication with her siblings. The thought was just too amazing to think of. Dean hung up after saying good night to his daughter he didn’t want to freak her out by bringing up what Cassie had told her. Whatever was going on with Meg sounded like it might help them all in the end. If she was communicating with her brother at least that meant he was still alive.
***
The fact was that Ari, Amber and the boys where in a basement surrounded by a glowing light produced by the very unaware little Braeden. Ari had figured out if she kept him content the protective shield around him stayed steady and the demons could not get inside. So far that had only come to check on them a few times and gotten frustrated when they realized that they could not reach them. Though one of them stood guard on the door while the others discussed what to do.
“So what is happening?” The one who seemed to be the leader asked as they went back upstairs to check on Milton.
“One of the people we captured has some type of power.”
“Yeah I noticed but it can’t be the lady because you would think she would use her skills to get them out of there.”
“I think it’s one of the kids,” another one said.
***
Dean saw Sam as he drove up to the house, Sam ran to close the small disruption made by the car before he met Dean at the door.
“Dude, relax,” Dean said to his brother who had begun to hover around him.
“I just…”
“You just what? Waiting for me to break down into tears? Shouldn’t you be inside researching?”
“Hey if we hadn’t had to go off and save your sorry ass, I could be working on the problem,” Sam grumbled though he smiled as they went up the stairs into the house.
Dean chuckled.
Alec and Ben were both crashed out with Ben on the sofa and Alec in the spare room. They found Erin in the study online. She had a smile on her face and they were certain she had found something.
“Looks like Milton own’s four properties in a ten mile radius.”
“Great,” Sam said as he moved a chair to sit down in front of the desk.
“Well actually it’s not that bad. Only two are occupied. One I was able to find a blueprint for is unoccupied, the other one we are on our own with as for as the layout.”
“Good job, Sis,” Dean said as he congratulated Erin for her work.
Sam frowned, hey I do the research.
“Hey I’m here to take up the slack, the work was done that’s what matters.”
“Stop bickering you two, let’s get some rest so at dusk tomorrow when can go and find my family,” Dean said.
TBC