Fallen [Dean Winchester FanFiction]

XXIX

Twenty-Nine

Two months later...

Dean had been sitting behind the wheel of his Impala, eyes staring out of the windshield into the empty streets of Crestone, Colorado. He drummed his fingers on his thigh, stealing another impatient glance at his watch. A whole hour had gone by, and Dean sighed his exasperation as he reached for his phone inside of his jacket. Suddenly the passenger door creaked open beside him. His eyes flickered over to the person standing outside, his gaze narrowing as they settled into the seat.

"Mind tellin' me again why you had me wait out here?"

Sitting back against the old leather, Carter turned and shot Dean a pointed look. "You forget already? You threatened to string the Sheriff up by his balls."

"Oh, come on. The guy's hiding somethin' and you know it."

"We can't say that for sure; all this just seems too damn sketchy to me."

"Even more of a reason I say we go back in there and knock his ass into next week."

Carter stared at him, brow raised. "And then what? Torture the townsfolk 'til someone starts talkin'?"

"We need a lead," Dean argued. "We've been here for three whole days, and I'm gettin' real tired of us sittin' around with our junk in our hands."

"So am I, but ain't much we can do when no one's seen or heard anything. We're just gonna have to wait it out."

Dean shot him an incredulous glare. "Wait it out? Listen, I don't know if you missed the memo but we got about a handful of teenage girls gettin' snatched up out of their beds in the middle of the night, and there ain't a damn trace as to what took 'em."

"And that's why we need to wait." Shifting around in his seat, Carter pulled out a clear Ziploc bag from his jeans. "We've been runnin' around in the dark since we got here, but I think I might've found us the break we've been needin'."

Dean stared at him curiously as he handed him the small sandwich bag. "What's this supposed to be?"

"A clue."

The hunter carefully studied the contents inside the bag before glancing back at Carter with, brows furrowed in question.

"It ain't much," said Carter, pulling his phone out of his jacket. "But this could point us to where those girls are bein' hauled off to."

"It's good enough." Tossing the bag onto the space between them on the bench seat, Dean twisted the key in the ignition and brought the Impala's engine roaring to life. "We need to go back and do a full sweep of those bedrooms; I got a feelin' there's somethin' we missed."

"Well, you better drive fast 'cause if I'm right and there's a pattern to all these disappearances, this town's gonna be down one more cheerleader by the stroke of midnight tonight."

Without a minute to lose, Dean tore out of the parking lot outside the Sheriff's department and sped down the desolate road.

*     *     *

South Fork, Colorado; seventy-three miles away...

"Dammit. Badge...where's my badge?"

Alaine had been rummaging through the glove compartment in her truck. She frantically searched underneath the massive clutter of old receipts, recycled napkins, and meaningless junk, but after hopelessly digging around for several minutes, she eventually came up empty handed.

Muttering an oath under her breath, she pulled her hand back and slammed the compartment's door shut, blowing out a long sigh. She took a minute to think of where else she could search when she remembered that her weapons bag in the backseat hadn't been touched.