Blood that Binds Us (SPN, Gen)
I never posted this over here, so I'm just going to chuck it into one post (assuming LJ allows it)...make that two posts, just so that all my fic is in one place. Feel free to comment on anything at all. I think this fic will be going down in my book as a huge learning experience. I've never written anything this long. :)
Title: Blood that Binds Us
Fandom: Supernatural
Rating: Teen
Words: ~13,000
Category: Gen, case fic, h/c (heavy on the hurt, not so much comfort)
Characters: Dean, Sam, Katie (OFC, age 22), Shelly (OFC, age 16)
Summary: Set mid season 2. While researching the case of a missing circus acrobat, Dean also goes missing.
Thank you to: Rinkle and Looleebelle for their discussions and beta help, maichan808 for making sure the boys don’t speak in non-American ways, the ficfinishing community (especially samidha) for all their cheerleading and my LJ friends-list for their random American knowledge (especially Icarusancalion and Erinrua). Phew, I hope I didn’t miss anyone?
Also for prompt: Writer's choice @ Paranormal25
Chapter 1
“See, it’s not so bad, Sammy.” Dean smirked and bumped shoulders with his brother.
Sam grimaced as he surveyed the scene - mechanical music, rattling rides, over-bright colours fading with age, bored-looking parents and the excited yelling of teenagers and children. It was as if Dean deliberately delighted in finding cases that involved possible lairs for clowns. This was the third fair ground this year, and this, even after they had established that Sam wasn’t completely crazy, because yes, clowns really could kill. Pretty soon, Sam was going to start searching for strange disappearances taking place in airports. In all honesty, though, Sam really had no more desire to relive that high altitude exorcism than Dean would.
Now, Sam turned the evil-eye on Dean and gave a non-committal grunt. Dean huffed a laugh, grinned like it was Christmas and shoved an EMF reader into Sam’s hands.
“Here, you head left, I’ll take the right and we’ll meet back in time for the show.”
Sam gave a tight nod and headed off to the right side of the fairground without another word, shoulders hunched in displeasure. The sooner this case was done with the better. It was only after he started walking, that Sam thought to look back and realise that Dean was bee-lining it toward the signs for “Dunk-A-Girl” and “Bumper Cars,” leaving Sam to check out the small children’s rides. With a roll of his eyes, Sam switched on the EMF meter and walked stoically toward the pony rides, keeping well-clear of the balloon-wielding clown that was entertaining the kids waiting in line.
O
An hour later, Sam took a deep calming breath before entering the small circus tent. The stifling heat of a tent too long in the sun and the excited chattering of families waiting for the show greeted him as he made his way to a seat in back. Sam’s phone shrilled and he slipped it from his pocket, checking the number before answering.
“Dean, where are you? The show’s about to start.” As if on cue, the lights in the tent dimmed and a spotlight began circling to the sound of a recorded drum-roll.
“I was just talking to Lenny over at the Dunk-A-Girl. He was on the night Shelly Li went missing. Apparently she’d just come off the dunking shift and was on her way back to her trailer to change. Candy, who was the next girl on the dunking shift, says she thought she heard something that sounded like a scuffle behind the tanks, but she was running late and ignored it. I’m gonna take a look around here and I’ll catch you after the show, Sammy.”
“Dean! Dean? Come to the show, I’ll meet you afterward and we’ll look together. Dean?” Sam snapped the phone shut with a disgusted noise as he realised the line had already gone dead. An usher dressed in full clown regalia and face paint (Sam shuddered) gave Sam a look and mimed turning off the phone to the amusement of the other audience members. Sam quickly switched the phone to vibrate and tucked it away, breathing a sigh of relief as the clown moved on.
O
Dean ducked behind the Dunk-A-Girl tank, passing a “staff only” sign to wander casually between rows of beaten-up trailers. He peered into a few of the windows as he passed, but found nothing but beds, clothes and costumes - the general mix of tidy and chaos created by life on the road.
Past the trailers, he hit a wire fence and beyond that he could see a storm water drain system. Dean shrugged and tilted his head in a thoughtful frown, before swiftly climbing the fence and landing on the other side. He set off walking at a steady pace along the edge of the drain.
O
Sam stared at his feet, shifting nervously in his seat as the clowns on stage rolled and bounced around to generous applause. He glanced at his watch, wishing the acrobats would come back. He’d been enjoying them at least, letting out little ohs of amazement that Dean would have laughed at if he’d been there. He’d probably have commented on the revealing costumes though, too. Sam had made note of those, so he could rub it in later.
Finally, the act he’d been waiting for came on stage. A young female mime artist, probably of similar age to Sam, stepped onto the stage to much applause. She was wearing a skin-tight silver leotard, her face heavily painted (just enough to make Sam uncomfortable) and a top hat with a large yellow daisy to finish off the outfit. Sam pulled out the program that they’d been handed on entering the fairground and unrumpled it against his thigh. Scanning the names and acts again, he found the one he was looking for: Katie Li - Mime. She was good too. Sam watched as she pulled invisible ropes, climbed invisible walls, rolled invisible balls and ate invisible food, all without making a sound.
As the act drew to a close, Sam made his way down the stairs and outside to the stage exit and its burly guard. The heat was slightly less oppressive outside the tent and Sam pulled at his sticky shirt, trying to circulate some air past his skin. A few minutes passed before Katie finally appeared at the doorway. She’d thankfully wiped off most of her make-up and pulled a brightly-coloured dress over her costume, but it was unmistakably the same girl, with her long black hair and delicate Asian features.
Sam stepped up to her, asking: “Katie Li? My name’s Sam. I was hoping to ask you some questions concerning Shelly’s disappearance. Have you got a moment?”
The burly man stepped in front of Katie, arms crossed. “What’s it to ya?” he asked, as he noisily cracked his knuckles, the sound making Sam wince. Katie peered around the big guy to look at Sam, her expression one of interest.
“I’ve been researching the recent local disappearances, the most recent being that of Shelly Li. Shelly Li, Katie Li, I presumed a familial connection, but if I’m wrong…?”
“I’m her sister.” Katie pushed the big guy to one side. “It’s okay, Alfred. I’ll talk to him.”
The big guy, Alfred - and wasn’t that a laugh - stepped away, but not before one last manly display of knuckle cracking and a death glare aimed squarely at Sam.
“Sorry about that. We sort of look after our own around here. You were saying something about more disappearances?” As Katie spoke, they moved off, walking purposefully toward some destination known only to Katie. Sam followed her lead as he began to fill her in on their research - the pattern of disappearances that occurred like clockwork every two years. Three or four people would vanish from the local area, usually within a three week period and then nothing again for another two years.
They stopped beside an unmarked trailer and Sam raised an eyebrow in question. Katie pulled open the door, before ushering Sam in ahead of her, mumbling, “home sweet home,” before closing the door behind them.
“So, how can I help you find my sister?” Sam could hear the unspoken: help me find my sister. Need to find my sister.
The watery depths of her dark eyes suddenly seemed so full of sad desperation. Sam glanced around the small trailer, anything to get away from the scrutiny of her intense gaze. The room though sparse, the barest of furniture and the basics of living, plus a few prized possessions - a guitar, a few books and a jewellery box - was crammed from floor to ceiling with all of the Li sisters’ worldly possessions. There were a few photographs tacked to a bar fridge in one corner, most of them featuring other costume-clad individuals. There was one, though, of Katie and an older woman with striking blue eyes and blonde hair, and a third girl who could have almost been a copy of Katie but for her blue eyes and slighter build. Even the difference in build was mostly likely due to age difference.
“Is that Shelly?” Sam asked as he pointed toward the photograph.
“Yeah, Shelly, me and Mom. Mom’s gone now; there’s just the two of us. We’re all we’ve got.” Katie fell silent again, apparently having offered all the information she was going to for the moment.
“Well, we could really use any information you can give us about your sister’s disappearance. Who saw her last, what time and place she disappeared, whether anyone heard anything? Anything at all, no matter how small or silly it may sound, that could give us a clue.”
“Okay. I’ll tell you, if you answer me one question.” Sam raised his eyebrows in an expression that clearly read go on, and she did. “You’ve said ‘we’ on more than one occasion. Is that who hasn’t checked in?”
Sam slowly let out a breath he hadn’t been aware of holding, his mind having run through a few different possible cover stories for why they were researching small town disappearances. He then glanced down at his phone and flushed guiltily. She was right, Dean was yet to check in and it was making him nervous. He must have checked his phone three times since entering the caravan.
“My brother. He was researching a lead. We were meant to meet up after your performance,” he answered truthfully.
Katie nodded gently. “I thought it was something like that. Thank you.” Sam was pretty sure she was thanking him for telling the truth. In fact he was beginning to get the uncomfortable impression Katie was one of those people that could cut through the bullshit and find the truth in any given situation.
“You’re welcome,” Sam mumbled, one hand reaching up to subconsciously rub at the back of his neck, unsure what else to say. Katie gave him a small smile; apparently deciding to answer his questions after all.
“Shelly was working a shift at the “Dunk-A-Girl” stand. None of us like it very much, but we take turns so no one has to be dunked on too regular a basis. Lenny was working the stand as always and he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Candy replaced Shelly around six o’clock and she was apparently seen heading in the direction of our trailer. I was working the ticket stands, so I wasn’t anywhere near the area. And really, that’s about all anyone knows. Once we realised she was missing, we spread out around the grounds and searched, but we didn’t find any trace. Then Alfred found her towel and there was blood on it, so we called the police.”
Sam watched Katie as she talked, a slight quiver in her voice the only give-away as to the depth of her feelings. She stared down at her hands where they were folded in her lap, looking up as she finished her story.
“Where was the towel found?”
“It was hanging on the fence behind the rows of trailers. There’s storm water drains beyond the fence, but we walked the length of them as far as you can go and didn’t find anything.”
Sam nodded thoughtfully. “Could you show me?”
“Of course. Ah, could you just…?” Katie smiled and made a twirling motion with her finger and Sam flushed slightly, turning around to face the wall as Katie quickly changed into street clothes.
Jeans, a plain white t-shirt and running shoes, he noted, when she gave him the all-clear; comfortable and practical. Sam liked her already.
They walked back out into the sunlight just as it was beginning to fade into evening. There was still no word from Dean, and Sam was decidedly not happy about that, a gnawing sensation was beginning to build in his belly and he fought to stay calm. Sam reasoned that if Dean was in some sort of trouble, and in all likelihood he wasn’t (there being plenty of beautiful women around a place like this to distract his brother for more than a couple of hours), then finding as much information as possible was the best thing he could do. It just wasn’t like Dean to forget to check in when they were working a case though.
As Katie led the way to the site where the towel had been found, Sam thumbed his phone on and dialled Dean again. The phone rang out until it hit voice mail: This is Dean, leave a message.
“Dean. Where are you? Look I’m with Katie Li, we’re checking out a possible lead. Apparently Shelly’s towel was found near the trailers hanging on a fence there. I swear to god, Dean if you’re goofing off… Just call me back, alright?” Sam flicked the phone off and shoved it in his pocket, turning back to find Katie giving him a worried frown.
She didn’t say anything though; she just started walking again as a solid-looking wire fence came into view.
“Alfred found the towel over there.” She pointed to one section of the fence. It didn’t look all that different from the rest of it.
Sam frowned, walking over to thread his fingers through the wire mesh. “Storm water drain systems end in dark tunnels. Dark places hide all manner of sins,” he said, or creatures, he thought to himself. “I’ll get a few supplies and check it out. Let you know if I find anything.”
Sam spun around, already re-dialing Dean as he headed back to the car for supplies. He had a handgun tucked in his pants, a knife in his boot, the usual, but if he was going to be deliberately meandering through dark tunnels after nightfall, Hell if he didn’t want at least a shotgun. Holy water wouldn’t go astray either. And where the hell was Dean? Sam snapped the phone off with a grumble and a frown as he heard his brother’s voice mail kick in again.
He was so busy already planning out supplies for hunting and various methods of killing Dean once he found him that Sam jumped slightly when a hand cupped his elbow. He spun around and found himself face-to-face with an irate looking Katie Li.
“What the…?” Sam started.
Katie raised an eyebrow, her so far impeccable politeness apparently broken. “If you think that my sister could be in those tunnels, why would you think that for one moment I would let you go in there alone?” Katie looked up at Sam’s face, her finger coming up to poke at his chest as an emphasis on every second word.
Sam was too startled by the sudden attack to do much but let out a confused “oww” and rub at his chest, as Katie continued.
“I am going to go with you and that is final.” She crossed her arms without breaking eye contact, chin held high, obviously waiting for Sam to argue the point.
“Uh, um,” he mumbled.
“Good, that’s settled then. Now what supplies were you going to get?”
O
Dean moaned as his fuzzy brain attempted to crawl its way back into the world. As soon as he got there however, he wished he could just slide back into blissful oblivion as he slowly catalogued his list of woes. Pain lanced through his skull sending white flashes dancing behind his eyelids. Add to that, he could barely feel his hands and arms, and what he could feel was a dull burning sensation in his wrists. He was lying on a surface that was cold, hard, slimy and most definitely not a motel bed.
Goddamnit! With that nasty realization, Dean’s eyes fluttered open to take in absolutely nothing. He blinked and tried again. Still nothing, but as Dean blinked a few more times his eyes began to adjust to the blackness enough for him to believe it really was darkness, rather than blindness. The noise that had woken him began again, his phone loud in the blackness and vibrating against his hipbone.
Dean grunted, trying to push his stiff body into action again. Pushing himself into a sitting position wasn’t easy, as he soon found his hands were tied behind his back at the wrists. Lying on them was what had made his arms feel numb and - once he’d managed to roll and push himself into a sitting position, legs out in front of him like a small child - pain assailed him afresh in the form of pins and needles. By then the phone had quit its ringing and it beeped twice to alert him to a new message.
“Damnit,” he grumbled. It was going to be a trick to get the ropes off his wrists and he needed to do that before he could reach his phone. He only wished he had something constructive to tell Sam. All he knew was that he was in a cold, dark place. If he could only remember how he got there.
“Is someone there? Can you hear me?” The voice was definitely female, sounding small and frightened in the dark.
“Yeah, my name’s Dean. Any idea where we are?”
“Not really. Somewhere in the sewers.” The voice was slightly stronger now, more sure of herself with someone else in the room, and definitely close by. Her words jogged his memory too; Dean had walked into the storm water drains, just for a look-see.
“Idiot!” he berated himself. He hadn’t let Sam know where exactly he’d gone and who knew how long he’d been unconscious or how far he’d been moved. The last thing he remembered was tripping over something; there’d been a noise like a scream, three red lights and then pain lancing through his skull. Brilliant, Dean. Just brilliant.
There was a shuffling, scraping noise, moving closer. “I’m Shelly. Keep talking. I think we’re in the same room, or whatever this is. Maybe we can get each other’s ropes off?”
“Okay.” Dean smiled slightly as the shuffling noises grew closer, as he could only assume the girl began to scoot across the concrete floor. “You know, me and my brother were looking for you, Shelly.”
Dean was rewarded with nervous laughter. “Guess you found me. I hope that means you have a plan to get out of here.”
“I always have a plan,” Dean shot back. “I’m just not sure what it is yet.”
The shuffling stopped and a foot bumped his leg at about thigh level. “Uh huh. Found you, it seems.”
Dean snorted a laugh. “Yeah. So, tell me, Shelly; how does a nice girl end up in a place like this?”
“Would you think me insane if I said someone big, dressed in black with three red eyes?”
“Considering something similar smacked my lights out, no, not really.” Dean sighed, pulling against the ropes that still bound his wrists in vain. “Not to sound forward or anything, but do you think you could reach the pocket knife in my back pocket?”
Just then, the phone started ringing again, vibrating against his thigh as Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic’ filled the empty darkness. Sam and his damn pranks.
“You gonna answer that?”
“How do you think I’m going to…?” Dean yelped as a foot landed squarely on the phone, narrowly avoiding other parts of his anatomy in the dark. The phone stopped ringing.
Chapter 2
Sam dialed his brother yet again, feeling it was a useless activity, but unable to stop himself. When the phone picked up he stopped dead, causing Katie to run into the back of him.
“Dean? Dean, you there?” Sam listened intently.
“Oww, what was that for?” Dean’s voice complained.
“Did the job,” answered a female voice.
“Okay, can you reach it.”
“I’m trying.”
There were some scraping noises followed by Dean’s voice again. “Hey, watch it.” A few noises Sam wasn’t sure he ever wanted to hear again in the context of his brother, then “that tickles.”
“Stop wiggling.”
“Oh my God.”
“Dean!”
“You know usually I at least buy a girl a drink before… Ow! Jesus, you’re flexible!” The last was said in something like awe and Sam blushed as he started walking again.
Katie’s hand was on Sam’s arm and he knew she was watching him, questions in her eyes, but she hadn’t tried to interrupt yet. The line went dead.
“Damnit!” Sam swore, hitting the redial button one more time.
This is Dean, leave a message.
“Sounds like Dean and Shelly are together wherever they are, but the line went dead.” Sam frowned, pocketing his phone and turning to face Katie.
“Might be out of batteries or they’ve moved too deep for a signal. Something like that…?” Katie asked. She took a deep breath as if to steady herself.
“Yeah, probably the battery. They sounded… calm enough.”
Katie cocked an eyebrow at that, shining her flashlight in Sam’s face as if she could read his intentions in his expression. Sam just winced as the light blinded him.
“Define calm?” Katie demanded.
Sam swallowed. “I could hear them talking. Sounded like they weren’t aware the phone had connected. Then it went dead.”
Katie frowned, then sighed and lowered the flashlight, leaving Sam blinking white after-images from his field of view.
“So, you heard Shelly? She’s okay then?” Sam heard the hope that tinged Katie’s voice.
“She didn’t say her name, but Dean was definitely with a girl and it seemed they were trying to reach something. Dean said she was flexible just before the line went dead.” Sam sure hoped they were trying to reach something or Sam would seriously have to kill his big brother. Considering the circumstances it was the most likely reason for the conversation he’d just overheard.
“Alright.” Katie nodded. “Let’s go save them then, eh?” She nudged Sam onwards. “Super siblings to the rescue and all that.”
The small wobble in Katie’s voice belied the light-hearted comment and Sam couldn’t help thinking of Dean. Katie was covering her fear with humour and she’d already made it known that she wasn’t going to allow herself to be left behind. She was going to find her sister or die trying and Sam understood that sentiment completely.
“Super siblings, awaaaay,” he replied. He felt Katie’s fingers take a hold of one of his belt loops as he led them both further into the darkness.
O
“Got it!” Shelly squealed triumphantly.
They sat back to back, Shelly pressed up against Dean’s bound hands and fishing in his back pocket. Dean was trying hard not to squirm as Shelly’s hands tickled his backside.
“Oh, thank God,” Dean exclaimed, but quickly stilled again as he heard the blade flick free of its housing.
“I’ll work on your ropes and then you can get the rest once your hands are free, okay?” Shelly asked. She didn’t wait for an answer, though, just started easing the flat side of the blade beneath the ropes that bound Dean’s hands.
“Alright.” Dean swallowed, hoping he wasn’t about to have his wrists slashed. “Shelly?” he asked, filling the silence with what he hoped would be useful questions.
“Yeah?” came the distracted response, all Shelly’s concentration on sawing ropes without sawing Dean.
“You’ve been down here a couple of days, right?” Dean continued.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Shelly’s rope-cutting efforts stopped a moment as she paused to think. “It’s pretty dark down here. Hard to tell.” She started sawing at the ropes again. “Why?”
“Was there anyone else down here with you, before me?”
Shelly shifted, moving behind Dean as if trying to release tense muscles in her back. Her long hair tickled at Dean’s arms before the sawing started up again.
“There was someone down here when I came to. A girl. But she just kept crying and I was pretty out of it. They conked me on the head kinda hard, but I think she was too scared to really talk to me, anyway, you know? And I was terrified too. Still am, for the record, but your being here. But anyway…” Shelly breathed deeply for a moment, as if the memory was hard to recount. She was obviously one of those people prone to talking quickly when stressed and Dean had to concentrate to follow the run-on sentences. “They came for her.”
“Who?” Dean asked, turning his head slightly in an attempt to see Shelly in the dark. It didn’t work though; the darkness remained too heavy for Dean to make out anything real.
The last strands of the rope that Shelly had been working chose that moment to break and Dean hissed as the blade nicked his hand. “Oh my God, sorry!” Shelly exclaimed.
“’m good, don’t apologize,” Dean assured, working his hands free of the rest of the ropes and taking the pocket knife back from Shelly. He started into the ropes on his ankles next, his fingers slow to cooperate as the circulation returned in a rush and he fought against the ache of pins and needles. “So, who came for the girl?” he asked again.
“Men. And a woman, I think, but mostly men. And they wore masks.”
“They were human?” Dean was surprised at that. Dean and Sam had expected a supernatural foe here or they wouldn’t have come, humans were a whole other mess of crazy that they preferred to leave to the authorities.
“Yeah. Of course!” Shelly responded in a well duh! tone of voice. “With masks. Big, ugly, black masks, with red eyes.” Dean felt Shelly’s body shudder, where she was still resting up against his back. “They had torches and the fire bounced off the masks like they were alive. It was…” Shelly slumped back against him. “They just took her. Kicking and screaming at first and then she just went quiet and walked right on out with them like she wasn’t bothered at all. It was…” She shrugged. “It was creepy.”
Dean nodded, then realizing belatedly that Shelly wouldn’t see the gesture, he spoke. “Yeah, I bet.”
The knife finally cut through the ropes at his ankles and Dean sighed in relief, shifting slowly to a squat and bouncing around a bit to relieve the kinks in his body. He reached into his front pocket, pulled out his phone and flipped it open.
“Shit,” he cursed. “I can’t believe this bull shit.” But despite his disbelief, the phone remained stubbornly dark and unresponsive.
“What?” Shelly asked.
“Battery’s dead. We’re gonna have to get out of here on our own.” Dean sighed. “Don’t worry, I’ve managed to get out of worse situations,” he stated, trying to invest in his voice far more self-assurance than he really felt. Luckily Sam had given him a lot of practice at that over the years.
Shelly didn’t respond, leaving Dean unsure if she believed him.
“Your turn, let’s free those pretty wrists,” Dean stated, reaching down to feel out the ropes that bound Shelly’s hands, all the while his mind desperately scrambling for possible escape routes.
O
The tunnels were pitch black in parts, badly lit in others. Beyond the flashlight’s reach, water was rushing somewhere up ahead and the sound of their footsteps seemed to echo off the rounded walls no matter how lightly Sam and Katie stepped. Sam couldn’t help noticing how much cooler it was in the tunnels than outside, and that there was probably the only good thing about this whole adventure.
“Ugh, it stinks down here,” Katie commented idly, noting yet another unpleasant aspect of this particular underground adventure.
“Yep,” Sam agreed. “Have you always been in the circus?” he asked, suddenly. A random question, but, now that the silence was broken, Sam felt a need to also break the monotony of their dark journey.
Katie paused as they came to another junction of tunnels and she marked the tunnel they were leaving by scratching a mark with one of Sam’s knives. Neither of them had any desire to become lost in the tunnel system, though if it were to happen they could more than likely head up to the surface and find an exit that way. For the moment they were following the sound of running water, moving ever deeper into the system of tunnels and marking the way as they went.
As they moved off again, Katie started talking. “Yeah, pretty much. Dad was one of those muscle men. You know, a little Asian guy with massive muscles, showing off for the crowd. It sounds silly when I say it like that, but I don’t know how else to describe him. He loved it, though - the circus. Loved the crowds and the lights and entertaining people. When I got big enough he’d sometimes use me as a prop, hoisting me up in the air or sometimes pretending something was too heavy and then little old me could lift it with one hand… you know the sort of thing. It was fun. I miss him.” Katie seemed lost in the memories, her voice wistful.
“Your Dad passed away when you were young?” Sam asked, his tone soft.
“Yeah. I was ten. Shelly was only four at the time. The doctors said it was an aneurism and nobody could have predicted it. I remember both of us crawled into Mom’s bed at night after that. Almost like we were trying to fill the space he left.”
“So was your Mom in the circus too?” Sam asked, hoping he wasn’t prying too far, but now genuinely interested. Katie didn’t seem to mind though.
“Not initially. She was only supposed to be with the circus temporarily, helping out with accounts and such. But the way Mom used to tell it, she fell in love with Dad and just stayed. She was blonde and blue-eyed and so different from Dad that people used to stare at us on the street. It would set Shelly and me to giggling, but they didn’t care at all.” Shelly turned her face to Sam and in the glow of the flashlight he could see she was smiling. “So, to answer your question, yeah I’ve been in the circus my whole life, and I’ve never really thought to leave. It’s a lifestyle that kind of sucks you in. You’re moving all the time; life’s kinda tough, but at the same time you’re with this big extended family and leaving would just… I’m not sure I’d ever be brave enough to do that. You know?” Katie stopped talking and sighed, probably reminded of why they were down here in the darkness. Of whom they were looking for.
Sam swallowed hard, trying to dislodge the lump that was suddenly stuck in his throat. “Yeah, I understand pretty well,” he managed to say.
“It’s just, family is everything. Shelly’s all I’ve got,” Katie almost whispered. “We will find them, right?”
“Yeah, we’ll find them,” Sam said, not sure whether he was trying to comfort Katie or himself. “We will find them,” he repeated, stronger this time.
“Yeah, course we will,” Katie agreed. She took a deep breath and they both squared their shoulders, setting off with new determination. Super siblings to the rescue.
Neither of them saw the tripwire until it was too late.
Continues here
Title: Blood that Binds Us
Fandom: Supernatural
Rating: Teen
Words: ~13,000
Category: Gen, case fic, h/c (heavy on the hurt, not so much comfort)
Characters: Dean, Sam, Katie (OFC, age 22), Shelly (OFC, age 16)
Summary: Set mid season 2. While researching the case of a missing circus acrobat, Dean also goes missing.
Thank you to: Rinkle and Looleebelle for their discussions and beta help, maichan808 for making sure the boys don’t speak in non-American ways, the ficfinishing community (especially samidha) for all their cheerleading and my LJ friends-list for their random American knowledge (especially Icarusancalion and Erinrua). Phew, I hope I didn’t miss anyone?
Also for prompt: Writer's choice @ Paranormal25
Chapter 1
“See, it’s not so bad, Sammy.” Dean smirked and bumped shoulders with his brother.
Sam grimaced as he surveyed the scene - mechanical music, rattling rides, over-bright colours fading with age, bored-looking parents and the excited yelling of teenagers and children. It was as if Dean deliberately delighted in finding cases that involved possible lairs for clowns. This was the third fair ground this year, and this, even after they had established that Sam wasn’t completely crazy, because yes, clowns really could kill. Pretty soon, Sam was going to start searching for strange disappearances taking place in airports. In all honesty, though, Sam really had no more desire to relive that high altitude exorcism than Dean would.
Now, Sam turned the evil-eye on Dean and gave a non-committal grunt. Dean huffed a laugh, grinned like it was Christmas and shoved an EMF reader into Sam’s hands.
“Here, you head left, I’ll take the right and we’ll meet back in time for the show.”
Sam gave a tight nod and headed off to the right side of the fairground without another word, shoulders hunched in displeasure. The sooner this case was done with the better. It was only after he started walking, that Sam thought to look back and realise that Dean was bee-lining it toward the signs for “Dunk-A-Girl” and “Bumper Cars,” leaving Sam to check out the small children’s rides. With a roll of his eyes, Sam switched on the EMF meter and walked stoically toward the pony rides, keeping well-clear of the balloon-wielding clown that was entertaining the kids waiting in line.
O
An hour later, Sam took a deep calming breath before entering the small circus tent. The stifling heat of a tent too long in the sun and the excited chattering of families waiting for the show greeted him as he made his way to a seat in back. Sam’s phone shrilled and he slipped it from his pocket, checking the number before answering.
“Dean, where are you? The show’s about to start.” As if on cue, the lights in the tent dimmed and a spotlight began circling to the sound of a recorded drum-roll.
“I was just talking to Lenny over at the Dunk-A-Girl. He was on the night Shelly Li went missing. Apparently she’d just come off the dunking shift and was on her way back to her trailer to change. Candy, who was the next girl on the dunking shift, says she thought she heard something that sounded like a scuffle behind the tanks, but she was running late and ignored it. I’m gonna take a look around here and I’ll catch you after the show, Sammy.”
“Dean! Dean? Come to the show, I’ll meet you afterward and we’ll look together. Dean?” Sam snapped the phone shut with a disgusted noise as he realised the line had already gone dead. An usher dressed in full clown regalia and face paint (Sam shuddered) gave Sam a look and mimed turning off the phone to the amusement of the other audience members. Sam quickly switched the phone to vibrate and tucked it away, breathing a sigh of relief as the clown moved on.
O
Dean ducked behind the Dunk-A-Girl tank, passing a “staff only” sign to wander casually between rows of beaten-up trailers. He peered into a few of the windows as he passed, but found nothing but beds, clothes and costumes - the general mix of tidy and chaos created by life on the road.
Past the trailers, he hit a wire fence and beyond that he could see a storm water drain system. Dean shrugged and tilted his head in a thoughtful frown, before swiftly climbing the fence and landing on the other side. He set off walking at a steady pace along the edge of the drain.
O
Sam stared at his feet, shifting nervously in his seat as the clowns on stage rolled and bounced around to generous applause. He glanced at his watch, wishing the acrobats would come back. He’d been enjoying them at least, letting out little ohs of amazement that Dean would have laughed at if he’d been there. He’d probably have commented on the revealing costumes though, too. Sam had made note of those, so he could rub it in later.
Finally, the act he’d been waiting for came on stage. A young female mime artist, probably of similar age to Sam, stepped onto the stage to much applause. She was wearing a skin-tight silver leotard, her face heavily painted (just enough to make Sam uncomfortable) and a top hat with a large yellow daisy to finish off the outfit. Sam pulled out the program that they’d been handed on entering the fairground and unrumpled it against his thigh. Scanning the names and acts again, he found the one he was looking for: Katie Li - Mime. She was good too. Sam watched as she pulled invisible ropes, climbed invisible walls, rolled invisible balls and ate invisible food, all without making a sound.
As the act drew to a close, Sam made his way down the stairs and outside to the stage exit and its burly guard. The heat was slightly less oppressive outside the tent and Sam pulled at his sticky shirt, trying to circulate some air past his skin. A few minutes passed before Katie finally appeared at the doorway. She’d thankfully wiped off most of her make-up and pulled a brightly-coloured dress over her costume, but it was unmistakably the same girl, with her long black hair and delicate Asian features.
Sam stepped up to her, asking: “Katie Li? My name’s Sam. I was hoping to ask you some questions concerning Shelly’s disappearance. Have you got a moment?”
The burly man stepped in front of Katie, arms crossed. “What’s it to ya?” he asked, as he noisily cracked his knuckles, the sound making Sam wince. Katie peered around the big guy to look at Sam, her expression one of interest.
“I’ve been researching the recent local disappearances, the most recent being that of Shelly Li. Shelly Li, Katie Li, I presumed a familial connection, but if I’m wrong…?”
“I’m her sister.” Katie pushed the big guy to one side. “It’s okay, Alfred. I’ll talk to him.”
The big guy, Alfred - and wasn’t that a laugh - stepped away, but not before one last manly display of knuckle cracking and a death glare aimed squarely at Sam.
“Sorry about that. We sort of look after our own around here. You were saying something about more disappearances?” As Katie spoke, they moved off, walking purposefully toward some destination known only to Katie. Sam followed her lead as he began to fill her in on their research - the pattern of disappearances that occurred like clockwork every two years. Three or four people would vanish from the local area, usually within a three week period and then nothing again for another two years.
They stopped beside an unmarked trailer and Sam raised an eyebrow in question. Katie pulled open the door, before ushering Sam in ahead of her, mumbling, “home sweet home,” before closing the door behind them.
“So, how can I help you find my sister?” Sam could hear the unspoken: help me find my sister. Need to find my sister.
The watery depths of her dark eyes suddenly seemed so full of sad desperation. Sam glanced around the small trailer, anything to get away from the scrutiny of her intense gaze. The room though sparse, the barest of furniture and the basics of living, plus a few prized possessions - a guitar, a few books and a jewellery box - was crammed from floor to ceiling with all of the Li sisters’ worldly possessions. There were a few photographs tacked to a bar fridge in one corner, most of them featuring other costume-clad individuals. There was one, though, of Katie and an older woman with striking blue eyes and blonde hair, and a third girl who could have almost been a copy of Katie but for her blue eyes and slighter build. Even the difference in build was mostly likely due to age difference.
“Is that Shelly?” Sam asked as he pointed toward the photograph.
“Yeah, Shelly, me and Mom. Mom’s gone now; there’s just the two of us. We’re all we’ve got.” Katie fell silent again, apparently having offered all the information she was going to for the moment.
“Well, we could really use any information you can give us about your sister’s disappearance. Who saw her last, what time and place she disappeared, whether anyone heard anything? Anything at all, no matter how small or silly it may sound, that could give us a clue.”
“Okay. I’ll tell you, if you answer me one question.” Sam raised his eyebrows in an expression that clearly read go on, and she did. “You’ve said ‘we’ on more than one occasion. Is that who hasn’t checked in?”
Sam slowly let out a breath he hadn’t been aware of holding, his mind having run through a few different possible cover stories for why they were researching small town disappearances. He then glanced down at his phone and flushed guiltily. She was right, Dean was yet to check in and it was making him nervous. He must have checked his phone three times since entering the caravan.
“My brother. He was researching a lead. We were meant to meet up after your performance,” he answered truthfully.
Katie nodded gently. “I thought it was something like that. Thank you.” Sam was pretty sure she was thanking him for telling the truth. In fact he was beginning to get the uncomfortable impression Katie was one of those people that could cut through the bullshit and find the truth in any given situation.
“You’re welcome,” Sam mumbled, one hand reaching up to subconsciously rub at the back of his neck, unsure what else to say. Katie gave him a small smile; apparently deciding to answer his questions after all.
“Shelly was working a shift at the “Dunk-A-Girl” stand. None of us like it very much, but we take turns so no one has to be dunked on too regular a basis. Lenny was working the stand as always and he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Candy replaced Shelly around six o’clock and she was apparently seen heading in the direction of our trailer. I was working the ticket stands, so I wasn’t anywhere near the area. And really, that’s about all anyone knows. Once we realised she was missing, we spread out around the grounds and searched, but we didn’t find any trace. Then Alfred found her towel and there was blood on it, so we called the police.”
Sam watched Katie as she talked, a slight quiver in her voice the only give-away as to the depth of her feelings. She stared down at her hands where they were folded in her lap, looking up as she finished her story.
“Where was the towel found?”
“It was hanging on the fence behind the rows of trailers. There’s storm water drains beyond the fence, but we walked the length of them as far as you can go and didn’t find anything.”
Sam nodded thoughtfully. “Could you show me?”
“Of course. Ah, could you just…?” Katie smiled and made a twirling motion with her finger and Sam flushed slightly, turning around to face the wall as Katie quickly changed into street clothes.
Jeans, a plain white t-shirt and running shoes, he noted, when she gave him the all-clear; comfortable and practical. Sam liked her already.
They walked back out into the sunlight just as it was beginning to fade into evening. There was still no word from Dean, and Sam was decidedly not happy about that, a gnawing sensation was beginning to build in his belly and he fought to stay calm. Sam reasoned that if Dean was in some sort of trouble, and in all likelihood he wasn’t (there being plenty of beautiful women around a place like this to distract his brother for more than a couple of hours), then finding as much information as possible was the best thing he could do. It just wasn’t like Dean to forget to check in when they were working a case though.
As Katie led the way to the site where the towel had been found, Sam thumbed his phone on and dialled Dean again. The phone rang out until it hit voice mail: This is Dean, leave a message.
“Dean. Where are you? Look I’m with Katie Li, we’re checking out a possible lead. Apparently Shelly’s towel was found near the trailers hanging on a fence there. I swear to god, Dean if you’re goofing off… Just call me back, alright?” Sam flicked the phone off and shoved it in his pocket, turning back to find Katie giving him a worried frown.
She didn’t say anything though; she just started walking again as a solid-looking wire fence came into view.
“Alfred found the towel over there.” She pointed to one section of the fence. It didn’t look all that different from the rest of it.
Sam frowned, walking over to thread his fingers through the wire mesh. “Storm water drain systems end in dark tunnels. Dark places hide all manner of sins,” he said, or creatures, he thought to himself. “I’ll get a few supplies and check it out. Let you know if I find anything.”
Sam spun around, already re-dialing Dean as he headed back to the car for supplies. He had a handgun tucked in his pants, a knife in his boot, the usual, but if he was going to be deliberately meandering through dark tunnels after nightfall, Hell if he didn’t want at least a shotgun. Holy water wouldn’t go astray either. And where the hell was Dean? Sam snapped the phone off with a grumble and a frown as he heard his brother’s voice mail kick in again.
He was so busy already planning out supplies for hunting and various methods of killing Dean once he found him that Sam jumped slightly when a hand cupped his elbow. He spun around and found himself face-to-face with an irate looking Katie Li.
“What the…?” Sam started.
Katie raised an eyebrow, her so far impeccable politeness apparently broken. “If you think that my sister could be in those tunnels, why would you think that for one moment I would let you go in there alone?” Katie looked up at Sam’s face, her finger coming up to poke at his chest as an emphasis on every second word.
Sam was too startled by the sudden attack to do much but let out a confused “oww” and rub at his chest, as Katie continued.
“I am going to go with you and that is final.” She crossed her arms without breaking eye contact, chin held high, obviously waiting for Sam to argue the point.
“Uh, um,” he mumbled.
“Good, that’s settled then. Now what supplies were you going to get?”
O
Dean moaned as his fuzzy brain attempted to crawl its way back into the world. As soon as he got there however, he wished he could just slide back into blissful oblivion as he slowly catalogued his list of woes. Pain lanced through his skull sending white flashes dancing behind his eyelids. Add to that, he could barely feel his hands and arms, and what he could feel was a dull burning sensation in his wrists. He was lying on a surface that was cold, hard, slimy and most definitely not a motel bed.
Goddamnit! With that nasty realization, Dean’s eyes fluttered open to take in absolutely nothing. He blinked and tried again. Still nothing, but as Dean blinked a few more times his eyes began to adjust to the blackness enough for him to believe it really was darkness, rather than blindness. The noise that had woken him began again, his phone loud in the blackness and vibrating against his hipbone.
Dean grunted, trying to push his stiff body into action again. Pushing himself into a sitting position wasn’t easy, as he soon found his hands were tied behind his back at the wrists. Lying on them was what had made his arms feel numb and - once he’d managed to roll and push himself into a sitting position, legs out in front of him like a small child - pain assailed him afresh in the form of pins and needles. By then the phone had quit its ringing and it beeped twice to alert him to a new message.
“Damnit,” he grumbled. It was going to be a trick to get the ropes off his wrists and he needed to do that before he could reach his phone. He only wished he had something constructive to tell Sam. All he knew was that he was in a cold, dark place. If he could only remember how he got there.
“Is someone there? Can you hear me?” The voice was definitely female, sounding small and frightened in the dark.
“Yeah, my name’s Dean. Any idea where we are?”
“Not really. Somewhere in the sewers.” The voice was slightly stronger now, more sure of herself with someone else in the room, and definitely close by. Her words jogged his memory too; Dean had walked into the storm water drains, just for a look-see.
“Idiot!” he berated himself. He hadn’t let Sam know where exactly he’d gone and who knew how long he’d been unconscious or how far he’d been moved. The last thing he remembered was tripping over something; there’d been a noise like a scream, three red lights and then pain lancing through his skull. Brilliant, Dean. Just brilliant.
There was a shuffling, scraping noise, moving closer. “I’m Shelly. Keep talking. I think we’re in the same room, or whatever this is. Maybe we can get each other’s ropes off?”
“Okay.” Dean smiled slightly as the shuffling noises grew closer, as he could only assume the girl began to scoot across the concrete floor. “You know, me and my brother were looking for you, Shelly.”
Dean was rewarded with nervous laughter. “Guess you found me. I hope that means you have a plan to get out of here.”
“I always have a plan,” Dean shot back. “I’m just not sure what it is yet.”
The shuffling stopped and a foot bumped his leg at about thigh level. “Uh huh. Found you, it seems.”
Dean snorted a laugh. “Yeah. So, tell me, Shelly; how does a nice girl end up in a place like this?”
“Would you think me insane if I said someone big, dressed in black with three red eyes?”
“Considering something similar smacked my lights out, no, not really.” Dean sighed, pulling against the ropes that still bound his wrists in vain. “Not to sound forward or anything, but do you think you could reach the pocket knife in my back pocket?”
Just then, the phone started ringing again, vibrating against his thigh as Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic’ filled the empty darkness. Sam and his damn pranks.
“You gonna answer that?”
“How do you think I’m going to…?” Dean yelped as a foot landed squarely on the phone, narrowly avoiding other parts of his anatomy in the dark. The phone stopped ringing.
Chapter 2
Sam dialed his brother yet again, feeling it was a useless activity, but unable to stop himself. When the phone picked up he stopped dead, causing Katie to run into the back of him.
“Dean? Dean, you there?” Sam listened intently.
“Oww, what was that for?” Dean’s voice complained.
“Did the job,” answered a female voice.
“Okay, can you reach it.”
“I’m trying.”
There were some scraping noises followed by Dean’s voice again. “Hey, watch it.” A few noises Sam wasn’t sure he ever wanted to hear again in the context of his brother, then “that tickles.”
“Stop wiggling.”
“Oh my God.”
“Dean!”
“You know usually I at least buy a girl a drink before… Ow! Jesus, you’re flexible!” The last was said in something like awe and Sam blushed as he started walking again.
Katie’s hand was on Sam’s arm and he knew she was watching him, questions in her eyes, but she hadn’t tried to interrupt yet. The line went dead.
“Damnit!” Sam swore, hitting the redial button one more time.
This is Dean, leave a message.
“Sounds like Dean and Shelly are together wherever they are, but the line went dead.” Sam frowned, pocketing his phone and turning to face Katie.
“Might be out of batteries or they’ve moved too deep for a signal. Something like that…?” Katie asked. She took a deep breath as if to steady herself.
“Yeah, probably the battery. They sounded… calm enough.”
Katie cocked an eyebrow at that, shining her flashlight in Sam’s face as if she could read his intentions in his expression. Sam just winced as the light blinded him.
“Define calm?” Katie demanded.
Sam swallowed. “I could hear them talking. Sounded like they weren’t aware the phone had connected. Then it went dead.”
Katie frowned, then sighed and lowered the flashlight, leaving Sam blinking white after-images from his field of view.
“So, you heard Shelly? She’s okay then?” Sam heard the hope that tinged Katie’s voice.
“She didn’t say her name, but Dean was definitely with a girl and it seemed they were trying to reach something. Dean said she was flexible just before the line went dead.” Sam sure hoped they were trying to reach something or Sam would seriously have to kill his big brother. Considering the circumstances it was the most likely reason for the conversation he’d just overheard.
“Alright.” Katie nodded. “Let’s go save them then, eh?” She nudged Sam onwards. “Super siblings to the rescue and all that.”
The small wobble in Katie’s voice belied the light-hearted comment and Sam couldn’t help thinking of Dean. Katie was covering her fear with humour and she’d already made it known that she wasn’t going to allow herself to be left behind. She was going to find her sister or die trying and Sam understood that sentiment completely.
“Super siblings, awaaaay,” he replied. He felt Katie’s fingers take a hold of one of his belt loops as he led them both further into the darkness.
O
“Got it!” Shelly squealed triumphantly.
They sat back to back, Shelly pressed up against Dean’s bound hands and fishing in his back pocket. Dean was trying hard not to squirm as Shelly’s hands tickled his backside.
“Oh, thank God,” Dean exclaimed, but quickly stilled again as he heard the blade flick free of its housing.
“I’ll work on your ropes and then you can get the rest once your hands are free, okay?” Shelly asked. She didn’t wait for an answer, though, just started easing the flat side of the blade beneath the ropes that bound Dean’s hands.
“Alright.” Dean swallowed, hoping he wasn’t about to have his wrists slashed. “Shelly?” he asked, filling the silence with what he hoped would be useful questions.
“Yeah?” came the distracted response, all Shelly’s concentration on sawing ropes without sawing Dean.
“You’ve been down here a couple of days, right?” Dean continued.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Shelly’s rope-cutting efforts stopped a moment as she paused to think. “It’s pretty dark down here. Hard to tell.” She started sawing at the ropes again. “Why?”
“Was there anyone else down here with you, before me?”
Shelly shifted, moving behind Dean as if trying to release tense muscles in her back. Her long hair tickled at Dean’s arms before the sawing started up again.
“There was someone down here when I came to. A girl. But she just kept crying and I was pretty out of it. They conked me on the head kinda hard, but I think she was too scared to really talk to me, anyway, you know? And I was terrified too. Still am, for the record, but your being here. But anyway…” Shelly breathed deeply for a moment, as if the memory was hard to recount. She was obviously one of those people prone to talking quickly when stressed and Dean had to concentrate to follow the run-on sentences. “They came for her.”
“Who?” Dean asked, turning his head slightly in an attempt to see Shelly in the dark. It didn’t work though; the darkness remained too heavy for Dean to make out anything real.
The last strands of the rope that Shelly had been working chose that moment to break and Dean hissed as the blade nicked his hand. “Oh my God, sorry!” Shelly exclaimed.
“’m good, don’t apologize,” Dean assured, working his hands free of the rest of the ropes and taking the pocket knife back from Shelly. He started into the ropes on his ankles next, his fingers slow to cooperate as the circulation returned in a rush and he fought against the ache of pins and needles. “So, who came for the girl?” he asked again.
“Men. And a woman, I think, but mostly men. And they wore masks.”
“They were human?” Dean was surprised at that. Dean and Sam had expected a supernatural foe here or they wouldn’t have come, humans were a whole other mess of crazy that they preferred to leave to the authorities.
“Yeah. Of course!” Shelly responded in a well duh! tone of voice. “With masks. Big, ugly, black masks, with red eyes.” Dean felt Shelly’s body shudder, where she was still resting up against his back. “They had torches and the fire bounced off the masks like they were alive. It was…” Shelly slumped back against him. “They just took her. Kicking and screaming at first and then she just went quiet and walked right on out with them like she wasn’t bothered at all. It was…” She shrugged. “It was creepy.”
Dean nodded, then realizing belatedly that Shelly wouldn’t see the gesture, he spoke. “Yeah, I bet.”
The knife finally cut through the ropes at his ankles and Dean sighed in relief, shifting slowly to a squat and bouncing around a bit to relieve the kinks in his body. He reached into his front pocket, pulled out his phone and flipped it open.
“Shit,” he cursed. “I can’t believe this bull shit.” But despite his disbelief, the phone remained stubbornly dark and unresponsive.
“What?” Shelly asked.
“Battery’s dead. We’re gonna have to get out of here on our own.” Dean sighed. “Don’t worry, I’ve managed to get out of worse situations,” he stated, trying to invest in his voice far more self-assurance than he really felt. Luckily Sam had given him a lot of practice at that over the years.
Shelly didn’t respond, leaving Dean unsure if she believed him.
“Your turn, let’s free those pretty wrists,” Dean stated, reaching down to feel out the ropes that bound Shelly’s hands, all the while his mind desperately scrambling for possible escape routes.
O
The tunnels were pitch black in parts, badly lit in others. Beyond the flashlight’s reach, water was rushing somewhere up ahead and the sound of their footsteps seemed to echo off the rounded walls no matter how lightly Sam and Katie stepped. Sam couldn’t help noticing how much cooler it was in the tunnels than outside, and that there was probably the only good thing about this whole adventure.
“Ugh, it stinks down here,” Katie commented idly, noting yet another unpleasant aspect of this particular underground adventure.
“Yep,” Sam agreed. “Have you always been in the circus?” he asked, suddenly. A random question, but, now that the silence was broken, Sam felt a need to also break the monotony of their dark journey.
Katie paused as they came to another junction of tunnels and she marked the tunnel they were leaving by scratching a mark with one of Sam’s knives. Neither of them had any desire to become lost in the tunnel system, though if it were to happen they could more than likely head up to the surface and find an exit that way. For the moment they were following the sound of running water, moving ever deeper into the system of tunnels and marking the way as they went.
As they moved off again, Katie started talking. “Yeah, pretty much. Dad was one of those muscle men. You know, a little Asian guy with massive muscles, showing off for the crowd. It sounds silly when I say it like that, but I don’t know how else to describe him. He loved it, though - the circus. Loved the crowds and the lights and entertaining people. When I got big enough he’d sometimes use me as a prop, hoisting me up in the air or sometimes pretending something was too heavy and then little old me could lift it with one hand… you know the sort of thing. It was fun. I miss him.” Katie seemed lost in the memories, her voice wistful.
“Your Dad passed away when you were young?” Sam asked, his tone soft.
“Yeah. I was ten. Shelly was only four at the time. The doctors said it was an aneurism and nobody could have predicted it. I remember both of us crawled into Mom’s bed at night after that. Almost like we were trying to fill the space he left.”
“So was your Mom in the circus too?” Sam asked, hoping he wasn’t prying too far, but now genuinely interested. Katie didn’t seem to mind though.
“Not initially. She was only supposed to be with the circus temporarily, helping out with accounts and such. But the way Mom used to tell it, she fell in love with Dad and just stayed. She was blonde and blue-eyed and so different from Dad that people used to stare at us on the street. It would set Shelly and me to giggling, but they didn’t care at all.” Shelly turned her face to Sam and in the glow of the flashlight he could see she was smiling. “So, to answer your question, yeah I’ve been in the circus my whole life, and I’ve never really thought to leave. It’s a lifestyle that kind of sucks you in. You’re moving all the time; life’s kinda tough, but at the same time you’re with this big extended family and leaving would just… I’m not sure I’d ever be brave enough to do that. You know?” Katie stopped talking and sighed, probably reminded of why they were down here in the darkness. Of whom they were looking for.
Sam swallowed hard, trying to dislodge the lump that was suddenly stuck in his throat. “Yeah, I understand pretty well,” he managed to say.
“It’s just, family is everything. Shelly’s all I’ve got,” Katie almost whispered. “We will find them, right?”
“Yeah, we’ll find them,” Sam said, not sure whether he was trying to comfort Katie or himself. “We will find them,” he repeated, stronger this time.
“Yeah, course we will,” Katie agreed. She took a deep breath and they both squared their shoulders, setting off with new determination. Super siblings to the rescue.
Neither of them saw the tripwire until it was too late.
Continues here