Dreamcatcher

Chapter 13 - The Search

As soon as I woke up, I went straight to find Sam. Ashlyn's words were still fresh in my mind, and I had to tell him everything. We were running out of time, and if we didn't act fast, we might lose her for good.

"Sammy!" I yelled, my voice echoing through the bunker as I searched for him.

"Dean, you're up," Sam said, stepping into the hall, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes. He'd been hanging on to that hope since the day Ashlyn vanished. They were best friends, and even though Sam hadn't said it outright, I knew he still blamed me for that fight we had before she left. The silent judgment had been lingering between us for months.

I could see the question in his eyes before he even asked, "Any luck this time?"

I nodded, trying to keep my own emotions in check. "Yeah, we were able to narrow down where she is. She's in San Francisco. She's in some dark, cold room... maybe underground. But she said she hears trains."

Sam's brow furrowed, processing the information. "That's something, at least. We can work with that. Could be near the subway or freight yards." He grabbed his laptop and started typing as he talked, already jumping into research mode. "I'll look up locations that match that description. But if she's underground, it could take a while."

"We don't have a while, Sam. The Djinn's been feeding off her for over seven weeks. We need to get moving. Now."

Sam didn't miss a beat. "Yeah, I get that, Dean. But let's not rush in blind. I don't want us both getting killed because we didn't think it through."

I scoffed, my frustration bubbling up. "Since when do we not rush in? We're always flying by the seat of our pants, Sammy. It's what we do."

"And maybe that's why Ashlyn took off in the first place," Sam shot back, his voice tinged with bitterness. "Because you rushed in and she got hurt, and now look where we are."

I clenched my jaw, my fists tightening at my sides. "She chose to follow us in, Sam. Don't act like you didn't know the risks. We all did."

"You're right. We did. But you pushed her away. She trusted you. She—" Sam cut himself off, shaking his head, like he was trying to reign it in. "Forget it. This isn't the time."

"Damn right, it isn't," I snapped, turning toward my room to grab my gear. "We're wasting time."

Sam followed, the tension between us thick enough to cut with a knife. As we packed, the silence dragged on, heavy with everything that had been left unsaid for weeks. Finally, Sam broke it.

"I just... I want her back, Dean. We can't screw this up. Not again." His voice was softer this time, filled with the same guilt and frustration that had been eating away at me since Ashlyn left.

I glanced over at him, seeing the worry etched across his face. "We won't screw this up. We'll find her."

Sam nodded, but I could still see the doubt flickering in his eyes. "I've been running through scenarios in my head. If she's in San Francisco, near the trains, maybe she's in the old underground tunnels. They've been abandoned for years, but people still sneak down there. Could be where the Djinn's hiding."

The hum of the Impala's engine was the only constant sound as we drove, the tension between Sam and me as thick as the darkening sky overhead. We had 24 hours to get from Lebanon, Kansas, to San Francisco, California, and every minute felt like it could be the difference between saving Ashlyn and losing her forever. I couldn't shake the feeling that time was running out, and fast.

Sam hadn't said much since we left. He kept his focus on the map, the roads, and his laptop, trying to narrow down where the Djinn might be hiding. But I could feel the weight of everything unsaid between us—the blame, the anger, the guilt. There was no point in dredging it up now, though. Ashlyn was all that mattered. Everything else would have to wait.