Stomach bug? Part 4
Title: Stomach Bug? (chps 14 to 18)
Summary: Sam is sick with what appears to be a stomach bug, Dean must find out what it is as the situation gets worse. Mystery and angst in this...also contains graphic scenes
Characters/Pairings: Gen, Dean, Sam, Mild Dean/OC, other OCs
Author:
chocca2
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: *sigh* No, I don’t own them, I don’t own much, in fact there have been questions surrounding the ownership of my mind. However, saying that, any characters you don’t recognize have been derived from my head.
Warnings: Violence, graphic descriptions, Strong language, Dark fic
Author’s Note: This was done a while ago so its set around season one. It was my first SN fanfic and originally posted on Fanfiction.net. It's quite a long story (around 30,000 words in total) so will post a few chapters at a time to make a bit more manageable to read. Reviews are very welcome!
(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7)
Dean approached the bed, gazing at Sam and shaking his head over the encounter they had just had with Cameron. The older brother refrained from speaking until he was sure that there was no one in the hallway. He sunk on the bed next to Sam.
"That guy just rubs me up the wrong way!" Dean frowned as he spoke.
"I hate to say this, but I think your right. There’s definitely something up with him Dean, I…" Sam placed a hand on his forehead and attempted the sooth away the headache that had steadily began to build.
A simple smile slipped across Dean’s face when he heard his baby brother admit that he was actually right.
"I’m always right Sammy!" The oldest Winchester replied. Slowly the grin that he wore faded to a look of concern.
"Hey, I think you need to take this." Dean offered Sam a cup with the same mixture that Celia had given him earlier.
The young hunter looked blankly at the cup and then back at Dean. His stomach rolled and twisted at the thought of anything passing through his lips. However, upon remembering the small, but precious relief the stuff had brought to his body earlier, he accepted what was offered and reached for the cup. His attempt at gripping the handle failed miserably and he nearly spilled the warm liquid over himself.
Dean caught the cup and watched as Sam sighed, placing his head back against the headboard. Sam breathed out, defeated. Now, he not only felt weak, but helpless as well, not to mention feeling embarrassed that he had become so dependent on his brother for even the smallest of tasks.
Dean sensed the younger man’s frustration. He hated to see Sam this way. Dean would do anything for the other Winchester in less than a split second, without even thinking about it. However, he also knew that the entire situation was prime ground for an emotional breakdown on either of their parts.
"It won’t be as comforting as when Celia helped you, but I’ll do what I can." Dean spoke with a grin on his face, amused by his own attempt to lighten the mood.
Dean held the cup up to Sam’s lips and offered the drink. Sam took the last sip and swallowed hard, trying to keep the liquid down. He took deep breaths as he concentrated on the simple task of swallowing. His head was still throbbing and the many thoughts that frantically raced through his mind made him feel dizzy when he tried to make sense of them.
‘Cameron? What is it? Why? Don’t trust him! Celia, she will help. Dean trusts her. If he does, why shouldn’t I? That voice! Why?’ Sam’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a knock on the door.
‘This is different.’ Sam thought, seeing as the knock was actually more of a tap, followed by the familiar voice of Celia.
"Hey, Sam?" Celia began. She ceased speaking and cast her eyes toward Dean as she walked over to the bed.
"Sam, I’ve called a friend of mine, well actually she was my teacher and mentor. Either way, she’s one of the best priestesses there are and we’re going to try and stop what Aurora has done to you." Celia finished.
Dean nodded in response to the news that Celia had brought and turned to watch Sam, who looked into Celia’s eyes with a confused expression as he tried to take in what she had just told him.
"She’s on her way now and she should be here in a few minutes." Celia placed her hand onto Sam’s forehead and brushed away some of his brown locks so she could better see his face. His head flopped back onto the headboard and he closed his eyes against the spinning room.
"Oh honey, you’re burning up." She spoke softy and turned to Dean who was once again pacing around the room, anxious for his brother.
"The pain should ease off soon Sammy, this will all be over in good time. I promise." There was something about Celia’s voice that Sam found to be very comforting, her fragrance, and her appearance were all so soft and warm.
Then he closed his eyes and thought of the only woman that had ever been able to make him feel safe. He thought about how much he missed Jessica’s love. Sam opened his eyes to stare into Celia’s, she responded with a smile that lit up the room.
‘She would’ve been good for Dean, I can see why he likes her.’ He thought as he passed his gaze to his brother.
"Sit down Dean, you’re making me even dizzier." Sam knew his brother well enough to recognize his nervous traits.
"Come and sit here Dean, I’ll be back soon." Celia stood and offered the seat next to the bed. Dean accepted it immediately.
"Thanks Celia, for everything." Dean smiled and watched her walk out of the room.
He knew that she had deliberately left them to give them time to talk and he was grateful for that.
"I can see why you like her Dean, she’s really nice." Sam grinned as he spoke and watched his brother’s eyes widen.
"Glad you noticed Sammy, she is amazing isn’t she? Man, if she wasn’t with that ass Cameron…" Dean’s expression said it all as he savoured the thought of being with a woman like Celia.
"Dean there’s something about him that makes me feel uneasy." Although Sam’s voice had been raspy pretty much since this whole thing started, it cleared up when he mentioned Cameron.
"I hear ya bro, this isn’t even about me and Celia either. I just don’t like him. In fact, I’m surprised that you feel the same way, I mean you never listen to my rare talent of people judgement, even though I’ve told you time and time again that I’m always right, even when I'm wrong." Dean spoke to his brother lightly, playfully nudging him.
"Dean, your judgement never turned me over to your side, I just feel it. I don’t know what it is, but I sense something funny." Sam’s face was serious as he spoke. He looked at Dean, who suddenly clicked into what Sam was talking about.
"So it’s your physic thing?" Dean straightened.
Frowning at Dean’s choice of words Sam replied "Yeah kind of, I don’t know…Just…" Sam stopped as pain consumed him.
A light tap on the door was followed by Celia opening it and walking in. She cast her gaze to Dean, who was now standing.
"Guys I’d like you to meet Evelyn. She knows almost everything there is know about all this, you’ll be safe in her hands." Celia smiled and made room for the woman behind her to step beyond the doorframe.
Dean greeted the new woman with a smile and nodded as he observed her appearance. She was short and plump, and wore a floral dress that complemented her dark skin. Her greying black hair was pulled into a French plait. Evelyn was old, although she appeared to have aged well. Dean followed her with his eyes as she walked over to Sam and was distracted when Sam suddenly gasped in shock at the sight of Evelyn.
Dean watched Sam shake his head and become increasingly upset by the woman’s presence.
"Please, don’t. Stay away from me, you’re not safe, please." Sam begged and looked over at his brother with frantic eyes for help.
Sam’s pleading turned into a sob and Dean couldn’t watch the turmoil any longer. He approached Sam and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It’s okay Sammy. What’s wrong?" Dean questioned as he looked over at Celia and Evelyn, noting their confusion.
"It’s okay Sam. When you’re ready, we can talk." Evelyn turned without a further word and walked out of the room. Celia, who gave Dean a confused shrug, followed Evelyn out.
Dean mouthed a sorry as he watched the door close behind them.
"Sammy? She’s gone, you gonna tell me what’s wrong bro?" He spoke lightly as he sat on the bed.
"Dean, she’s the one from my vision, the one I…" He swallowed the bile that rose while he spoke.
"I saw myself kill her Dean, I slit her throat and drained her blood. I can taste it in my mouth." Sam fought the urge to retch and closed his eyes tightly.
"Hey, it’s gonna be okay kiddo. She’s here to help. You’re safe in this room, we all are." Dean closed his hand tighter around Sam’s shoulder.
"I won’t let you ki…" Dean paused and watched Sam’s eyes widen before continuing with a better choice of words. "Nothing’s going to happen, okay?"
------
Cameron sat hunched in corner of the bathroom with the phone pressed firmly against his ear. He spoke quietly so he wouldn’t be heard and turned the water on for background noise.
"Yes…Yes! It’s done, okay! He drank every drop." Cameron wiped away the sweat that had gathered on his brow. There was a pause as the person on the other end of the phone spoke.
"No! I’m not going to do anymore. They’ll get suspicious. I’m out! You hear me! Leave me alone!"
Cameron’s eyes frantically flitted about the bathroom and he breathed heavily. He closed the phone and placed it into his pocket with shaking hands.
------
Celia placed her warm palms over the top of Evelyn’s who was holding tight to a mug of sweet tea.
"I’m sorry Evelyn, Sammy’s been through so much. He’s just so…" She paused and rubbed Evelyn’s hand before pulling away and rising from the kitchen table.
"Oh it’s okay honey, don’t apologize. I understand, that poor boy." She sighed before continuing.
"I think he saw something. I mean, by his reaction I could tell that he had seen me before…" Evelyn spoke in a soft and soothing manner, whether she was trying to or not. Calmly, she took another sip of tea and smiled at the young lady standing before her.
"Now, you did give Sam the tea we talked about, right?" She asked politely.
"Yes, I did" Celia nodded and returned the friendly smile that Evelyn offered.
She relaxed, as the words spoken by the older woman seemed to ease the stress and tension bombarding her mind. Celia chuckled quietly and playfully shook her head, remembering why she cared so much for Evelyn.
"Thank you!" Celia spoke and the words were truly and extremely genuine, as was the smile resting softly on her lips.
"What for, honey?" Evelyn gazed at Celia with a slightly puzzled expression.
Celia continued to shake her head gently.
"Just for being you. I’m so glad that you’re here, not just for Sam, but…I’m just happy to have you around. You always make me feel safe…" Celia’s voice broke slightly as her emotions fluttered to the surface.
She looked away and walked over to the sink. With her back turned, she breathed deeply and tried to gather her shattered composure, if only to grasp her rapidly failing dignity and save herself the embarrassment of breaking down in front of Evelyn.
Evelyn saw straight through her act and sighed quietly before speaking with a friendly, but firm voice. "Honey, when this whole thing with Sam is over, you and I need to have a talk! I know you Celia Murphy, probably better than you know yourself, and you’re not fooling me!"
Celia nodded and wiped away the tear that had escaped to fall softly on her cheek. She felt like the innocent little girl that she had once been as she returned to the kind hearted woman who had practically raised her from birth.
‘I love you too Evelyn.’ She thought. With a helpless sigh, she returned to the task that stretched out ahead of her.
0o0o0o
In the bathroom, Cameron bent low, over sink and tried nervously to calm himself. He turned on the taps and filled his hands with cold water that he roughly splashed over his face.
"Shit!" He cursed when the water splattered onto his shirt and trousers.
‘Get a grip, Cameron!’ He told himself.
He slowly brushed away the water that trailed down his pant legs before straightening and gazing into the mirror. A look of complete blankness mauled his features. When a few seconds had passed ticking away one by one, feeling like an eternity, he smiled at his reflection.
‘Dean Winchester, get used to it, Celia is mine!’ With that thought clinging to his mind and keeping his sanity grounded, he left the room, closing the door behind him.
0o0o0o
"Hey Sammy, will you be okay for a minute if I go and check on the progress being made out there?" Dean asked, motioning to the door.
In all actuality, he was desperate for the bathroom, but thought that it would do anything, but make Sam feel any better, if Dean were to tell him his true purpose. After all, Sam was miserably stuck with using the bedpan and Dean was free to come and go as he pleased. Patiently, Dean waited at the door for an answer, before moving into the hall.
"Hmm, I feel kinda…" Sam scrunched up his face upon feeling his stomach twist in a nauseating motion. He groaned, and the sound he uttered was loud enough for his older brother to hear.
Dean immediately rushed to his younger brother, recognizing the familiar facial expression.
"Whoa, hang on Sammy!" Dean spoke, grabbing for the bin at the side of the bed.
"It’s Sam." The young man on the bed moaned.
"I think I’m okay…" Sam mumbled as he pushed away the bin that was shoved in front of his face.
"Go, I’ll be fine." Sam tried his best to sound fine when he spoke, but Dean wasn’t fooled by the whole act his brother was putting forth. However, he ignored it, allowing Sam to feel as though he’d won, to soothe the younger Winchester’s desperation for independence.
"Okay then, I’ll be back in minute." Dean watched his brother closely for a reply, but only got a nod. He took that as good enough and walked into the hallway.
In the hall, Dean found Cameron standing by the bedroom door. An overwhelming sense of anger boiled from inside of him when he thought of that man getting anywhere near Sam, again.
‘Okay, just stay cool. Be civil with this jerk, even if it’s only for Celia’s sake. You can handle this in a perfectly mannerly way, just think of something nice to say. Compliment his shirt, well maybe not, it looks like something from a trash bin. Okay, forget about the damn compliments, this thing doesn’t deserve any. Just ask him what the hell he thinks he’s doing snooping around Sammy’s door, but totally tone it down, but don’t be too nice or he’ll think of you as a pushover. I am so not a pushover! Just…speak.’ Dean thought to himself.
The older brother scrolled through possible insults that he could sugar coat so the attempts to shatter Cameron's pride would go undetected.
"Um, you going somewhere?" Dean questioned.
‘Damn! Not exactly the extraordinarily brilliant jab that I was hoping for. Ah well, it’ll have to do.’ Dean held the curse inside as he looked away from the prying eyes locked on him.
‘Say something else! Don’t you dare let this jerk get the upper hand this time, or any time!’ Dean carried on the conversation with himself, while once again speaking to Cameron with pure vehemence and dislike in his words.
"I thought we already discussed this, Sam is not up for friendly conversation right now!" He added. For good measure he tossed one of his carefully perfected and classic, 'by-the-way-I-hate-your-guts', grins.
Cameron chuckled lightly, ignoring the look that Dean was giving him, before once again speaking.
"Actually, I was looking for Celia." Cameron brushed his hand over his nose as he spoke.
"Oh yeah? Well she’s not in there!" Dean walked away and pulled another uncivilized facial expression that, luckily, went unseen by Cameron.
"Dean…" Celia sighed as she watched the young man walk in to the kitchen, followed by Cameron who looked incredibly pissed.
‘Just great, now what’s happened?’ She thought.
"Cameron?" Her voice lowered slightly and she tried to hide the disappointment that she felt.
"Hey! How’s everything going? Is it ready yet?" Dean’s eyes crossed over the two women as they continued with the preparation for Sam’s voodoo ceremony.
Dean completely ignored Cameron, who was standing quietly behind him, clearly gesturing defeat in his posture.
‘Whoo! Score one for the Dean team! That jerk’s got nothin’ on me!’ Dean thought in raw satisfaction.
"Err, so how can I help?" Cameron asked. He moved in front of Dean and walked toward Celia, who briefly gazed into his eyes, noting his strange behaviour.
"It’s all done now…" She smiled and cast a hurried glance to Dean before moving toward Evelyn.
"It sure is! We’ll be ready in about five minutes!" Evelyn spoke cheerfully. She continued to flick through the old and tattered book.
Dean walked over to the tray and observed all of the freaky items placed on it with an odd sort of face. Before he made another move, his bladder reminded him of what his previous intentions had been.
"I’ll be right back" He tossed over his shoulder as he left the kitchen.
Cameron watched the young hunter leave the room and sat at the table to watch the women continue their final preparations. He let out a loud sigh and rubbed his face as jumbled thoughts of what he had done ran through his mind.
‘I hope he drank it.’ Followed by, ‘They had better leave us the hell alone now!’ fluttered through his mind, but he quickly shook away the thoughts and returned to watching Celia.
Celia heard Cameron sigh and felt guilt invade her mind. Something was wrong. It had been for a while and he knew it as well as she did!
Evelyn felt the tension building in the room and stood from her book, slamming the cover shut.
"Right, let’s do this!" Evelyn replied.
"Dean will be back soon. Cameron, honey, could you help me with this tray? Let’s get everything to Sam now!" Celia ordered.
Immediately, Cameron got to his feet and grabbed the tray in question. With a smile, he followed the two women out of the kitchen and down the hall to Sam’s room.
Celia placed her hand onto the cold handle leading to where Sam was and she gently turned it. The door yelped open with a low squeal of the hinges and the room was shrouded in complete darkness. Her heart skipped a beat and she reached for the light switch. When the light flooded the room she gasped at the sight of an empty bed.
"Sammy?" She called out as she slowly walked into the room, followed closely by Evelyn.
Cameron lingered in his position outside of the bedroom and watched the women cautiously venture inside.
Celia’s eyes frantically darted from side to side as she searched the small room. The darting stopped and passed over the young Winchester standing in the darkest corner of the room. A racing heart fluttered in her chest as her mind searched for answers. Why was Sam out of bed? How had he managed to get up? What was he doing in the corner?
"Sam, what are you doing?" Celia asked with a hint of fear and concern.
There was no answer. She gave Evelyn a quick look, before starting to approach the man in the shadows.
"Celia, NO!" She heard the cry shatter through the room, before everything went black….
------
Dean slowly eased his aching body in the direction of Sam's room and groaned when he rubbed his forehead.
The throbbing that was building up inside his head reminded the young man of previous events that had come to pass. He let out another sigh and thought about how much more his little brother had gone through and how the younger Winchester was still suffering.
The numbing silence that filled the hallway caused Dean to stop suddenly. His eyes wandered toward the door that closed off Sam's room from the rest of the house. He paused for a few more seconds before sinking into the familiar mode of the hunter. Slowly, he pulled his gun from his back pocket and cautiously made his way to Sam's room.
Dean placed his hand on the cool wood of the barely ajar door and gave it a careful push with his fingertips. He cursed aloud when the door opened to reveal a dark and unlit room.
“Sam?” He didn’t hide his concern as he called out to his brother. He drew in a deep breath and bit his lip before creeping into the darkness.
“Celia? Evelyn!” He yelled out.
He stood in the doorway, sensing the presence of someone in the shadows of the room. Soft, yet strained breathing whispered in the darkness and he repositioned himself so he was better prepared. He hovered one of his hands over the lightswitch and the other tightly grasped the handle of the weapon that he held at the ready.
In one, swift motion, he flipped the switch and a piercing glow flooded the room. Almost immediately, he recoiled in shock and dropped his gun. A few silent moments passed where there was not so much as a shudder of movement in the stillness. Dean observed the scene that was scattered before him with shallow breath.
Sam lay unconscious and cradled against Evelyn's right side, while Celia was cradled at Evelyn's left side. The older woman held both the figures tightly against her as though protecting them from the many evils of the world. Evelyn seemed unaware of Dean's presence in the room as she hummed quietly, hushing the prone bodies that lay against her.
Dean shook himself from his state of shock and slowly approached them. He placed a shaking hand against Sam's forehead and for once was thankful to feel the fever burning beneath his gentle touch.
“What happened?” He asked quietly as he brushed the hand through Sam’s hair and then his attention faded to Celia.
Evelyn finally acknowledged Dean. Her worried eyes stared directly into
his and she shook her head.
“I need your help!” She spoke with emotion and a tear ran down her cheek.
------------------------------------------
7 minutes earlier
Celia gasped for breath as the firm hold on her neck tightened. She struggled to fight against the grip that was working on squeezing the life from her lungs. She looked into the younger man’s eyes, only seeing pure evil boiling within them.
As she turned her head, she saw the familiar and comforting face of Evelyn.
The woman, who was standing in front of the two of them, placed her lips together and blew. A nearly transparent dust flew from her palm and straight into both Sam's and Celia's unsuspecting faces.The twoof them inhaled the polluted air and choked as they fell to the ground.
------
Cameron could feel his heart beating painfully against his ribs as he watched Celia take small steps toward Sam. A drop of perspiration rolled down his face and hit against the tray that he was holding firmly against his chest.The pressure growing within him, caused him to shudder as he placed a foot
toward the door.
The tray was flung against him as the unseen force within kept him from entering.
"What? Celia, NO!”
He once again attempted to place his foot inside the room.
“No, this is not meant to happen! You promised! No please!” He cried as he was forced back.
Before he could make another attempt, he saw Celia and Sam fall to the
ground, followed by a loud noise and the door slammed shut in front of
him.
----------------------------------------------
“Take your brother Dean, before… he…it wakes up.” Evelyn replied. Dean gave her a sharp, shocked gaze as he lifted Sam’s arm.
“What are you talking about? Sam was safe in here. What happened?” Dean
didn’t wait for an answer as he took his brother’s weight and carried the
young man to the bed.
“Dean, someone, I think Cameron, did this! You need to tie him up, we're not
safe anymore!” Evelyn voiced her concern as she spoke. She held Celia’s limp
body closer and began to rub her back.
“You need to hurry Dean!” Dean tried to remember where he had placed the hand cuffs that he had hoped would be of no further use.
“Sorry kiddo.” Dean whispered as he pressed the cuffs on, restraining
his brother once more.
“She gonna be okay? What’s wrong them?” Dean helped lift Celia as Evelyn
slowly crawled out and stood next to him.
“I had no choice, I had a feeling something was wrong. They should be okay
soon, Sam will, but I’m worried about Celia.” Evelyn followed as Dean lifted
Celia into his arms and placed her into a chair opposite to the bed.
“What do we need to do?” Dean brushed a lock of hair from the unconscious
woman's face and turned to his brother.
“The Loa is controlling your brother, and for now she is controlling the
Loa. She doesn’t what she's done!” Evelyn paced slightly as she assed the damage to the items in the room.
“Dean, we need to hurry to save him, the longer it possess him more damage
it is doing to him, he is becoming her zombie and will no longer be Sam.” She
lifted a candle and began to walk around the room.
“Can’t we do something to get this out of him and back to wherever it came
from” Dean questioned knowing deep down that things were never simple when it came to supernatural beings.
“We can’t do that. She conjured it, it’s connected to her, meaning she’s
connected to Sam she will have control Sam’s powers” Evelyn paused and
turned away.
“Powers? You mean his vision? What aren’t you telling me? You know more
about this don’t you?” Dean walked closer to gain the attention of Evelyn
before they were both interrupted by the stirring on the bed.
“Sam?” Dean questioned as he approached his brother.
“Dean no! Be careful!” Evelyn stepped back from the bed and moved closer to where Celia was laying.
“That’s right Deany, be careful!” The youngest brother's voice was horse, although he spoke firmly in a sarcastic tone.
“Where the hell is my brother?” Dean asked viciously, standing over Sam’s body.
------------
The young man that lay on the bed sniggered at the question.
"Unfortunately, Sammy is still here. He just wont give up. I must say, he’s a fighter." The evil grin that followed made Dean twitch as he tried to absorbed what exactly was playing out before him.
‘Sammy’s in there, somewhere.’
"I swear, if you hurt him…" Dean’s anger seethed through his words and he paused for a few seconds to regain the composure that he had lost.
"If you hurt my little brother, I swear I will kill you and send you back to wherever the hell you came from!" Dean snapped.
Sam gasped and his face showed nothing, but mock fear. The sarcastic expression painted on the youngest Winchester’s face once again served to remind Dean that Sam was not the one speaking to him.
The eldest brother continued to gaze at young man and his eyes softened just a bit when he saw how truly weak Sam was. Nearly all of the colour was drained from Sam’s face. His eyes were sunken in and ugly, dark circles taunted him from beneath the lower lids. Coupled with the mysterious markings that marred the younger’s features, Dean could truly see every weakness that Sam had, and that scared him more than the voice snarling from within the young one’s throat, that and the fact that Dean could see death’s hunger creeping quickly over his baby brother. Every fibre of the oldest Winchester ached and he cursed himself for failing to protect Sam in a situation such as this.
‘Sammy, you gotta hang in there. Please, just hold on until I can figure this out.’
"Dean…Honey I know it’s hard but we have to keep it together." Evelyn spoke softly in the hopes of comforting the young man with an internal struggle painted on his face.
Dean gazed slowly around the room and yet again took in his surroundings. He brushed his fingers through his hair and a troubled sigh escaped his lips, a sigh that he was helpless to stop.
"How’s she doing?" He asked, drawing closer and placing a hand upon Celia’s cool skin.
Evelyn shook her head before answering. "It wasn’t meant for her, Dean." The woman’s voice was silent and she looked desperately up at the young hunter standing before her.
"I had no choice." The regret and fear that filled Evelyn’s eyes caused chills to shiver up his spine.
The older woman looked into Dean’s eyes. She wasn’t afraid to show her despair. They remained locked, in that same position for what seemed like forever, but only mer moments truly passed. However, a few moments was just enough time for both of them to grasp the drifting tendrils of composure and pull it back to them.
"Lets do this." Dean replied as he forced himself into hunter mode.. Evelyn allowed herself a faint smile and nodded.
"Okay, here’s what we have to do..."
--------------------------
Cameron crouched behind a bush, trying to hide his tall frame as much as possible. Thorns and prickles scraped deep into his skin and he winced at the pain they triggered. His breath came in frantic gasps as he struggled to remain quiet.
Cameron shifted and slowly moved closer to the window. He used a single leg to balance himself and push him up the rough wall, ignoring the ranches that dug into. He squinted through the bush and into the window where he searched left and right, but found only an empty room. A sigh of relief escaped into the night and he relaxed a bit as he continued to peer into the room.
"Shit!" He exclaimed when his right foot slipped.
Immediately, he looked down in an attempt to regain his footing in the soil that was slowly swallowing his foot. With a racing heart, he chuckled lightly to himself upon realizing the overreaction he was giving.
‘Get a grip!’ He mentally scolded himself before raising his head to gaze into the room once again.
He scanned the windowpane and he stumbled back a bit when his eyes locked with a pair of dark ones that seemed to stare straight through him.
------------------------------------------
"Are sure you’ll be okay?" Dean questioned with hesitation.
Dread boiled inside of him at the thought of leaving Evelyn alone with both Sam and Celia, not to mention the thing inside of Sam and the fact that Celia was unconscious and wouldn’t be able to help, if Evelyn needed it.
"Honey, we’ve gone through this. There’s no other choice. You’ve got to go to Aurora’s and do what we agreed." Evelyn shot Dean a warning glance to cut off his protest, and that made the young hunter think that she could read his mind.
The instructions that Evelyn had given him left little room for much else, but that didn’t stop him from imagining what he was going to do to the woman that had done this to Sam, with or without instructions.
"Okay, I’m going. I’ll be back as soon as I can." Dean remained still for a few moments before picking up his bag of supplies.
"Call if you ne…Never mind, I’m gone." He muttered upon seeing the warning from Evelyn once again. He turned away and left the room, leaving Evelyn behind and hating every second of it.
-------------------------------------------
Dean knew that the plan was dangerous, and not just to him or to Sam, but to everyone that was involved.
His head was bombarded with thoughts as he drove to his destination. He thought about Sam, about Aurora and Cameron. He gritted his teeth when he thought of Cameron. Everything that Dean had suspected or, wanted to suspect about the man had ben confirmed as the situation had unfolded.
Evelyn had explained the sabotage involved in Sam’s sudden turn and she’d also explained that in order for it to play out right, Aurora would have had to have inside help. That inside help had to have been Cameron, he was the only one that it could be.
Dean shook away all of the thoughts and the rage. He knew he had to stay focused. He had to go to Aurora’s, destroy the altar or shrine, exorcise Sam and then kill Cameron...Well, he didn’t have to kill Cameron, but he was sure as hell going to teach him not to mess with a Winchester.
He grasped the steering wheel and kept driving.
-----------------------------------------------
The drive seemed to take forever, but when he looked at his watch, he realized that only fifteen minutes had actually passed. He drew the car to a stop and got out to gather his supplies.
With a final survey of his surroundings, he drew a breath and started the descent to his target.
------
Dean located the shrine easy enough, but felt uneasy about the house being so empty and quiet. Not even a creak from the floorboards drew his attention.
There was nothing. His instincts told him that this whole thing was too easy, he should’ve at least been met with some resistence, but he wasn’t.
Before continuing, he scanned the walls one last time and spotted a door that he had missed. He sighed apprehensively and began to slowly make his way toward it. Before getting there, however, a thick, sticky substance squished under the soles of his shoes. A colourful curse was muttered miserably and he lifted his foot in an attempt to see what he’d stepped into.
The door in front of him slowly crept open with an audible squeal that cried out at him. The young hunter tensed and brought his weapon t the ready as he waited for whatever was going to come.
He leapt back in alarm when a body fell from the door and hit the ground in front of him.
"Fuck!" he exclaimed, and stood, temporarily shocked at what had happened.
A quick shock of guilt sliced through him, stemming from the thoughts that he had had only a few moments before about Cameron, who now lay at his feet. He placed a hand over his face as Celia came to mind.
This wasn’t supposed to be part of the plan...
-----------
Dean frowned as he looked down at the body below him.
‘Yep, he’s dead, that’s a no brainer.’ He thought as he analysed the wounds that were most likely the cause of death.
The large slash stretching from one end of the throat to the other was likely what had done Cameron in. Dean stepped back away from the pool of blood that was slowly creeping around him and he edged away from the body before he turned his attention back to the issue at hand.
As he approached the shrine, he saw what he needed to take as well as what he was instructed to destroy. The room darkened a little when he blew out the pyramid of candles on the table, but it didn’t even faze him, he and Sam did most of their hunting in the dark because as he’d told Sam before, ‘the freaks come out at night.’ And boy wasn’t that the truth...
He secured a rag doll firmly under his arm and shook his head, allowing a small bit of amusement to cross his face. He must’ve looked like such a sissy, carrying a doll around. If some other guys were to see the doll under Dean’s arm, his ego and macho status would be completely shot.
‘Isn’t Aurora a little old to be playing with dolls?’ Dean thought wryly.
He shook his head again and looked down at the doll.
"Crazy ass witch." He muttered.
After retrieving everything that he needed, he gripped the end of the oak table and flipped it, causing all of the contents to go clattering across the floor. A slight hint of relief washed over him and he glared at the mess that he’d created. Once satisfied that he had done his job, he walked out of the room, not looking back.
------------------------------------
"Aurora? Whatever happened to you?" Evelyn walked around Sam’s bed to the right side and looked down at the young man’s body on the bed in pity.
Sam licked his lips and the response that she got was, "Me! What happened to you? I thought you were strong. You even looked up to me at one point," The young man held his nose up in an attempt to show his disgust.
"But, look at you now, look how pathetic you’ve become, woman!" Sam finished.
Evelyn flinched at the words. She was strong, she’d known what to expect, but the words still pierced through her when she heard them spoken by the young man. The piercing wasn’t because Sam was speaking the words, but it was because Aurora was using Sam to speak the words. The words were coming from a woman whom Evelyn had once thought of as a friend.
"You’re not getting away with this! I won’t let you hurt that poor boy or anyone else!" Evelyn’s voice was stern and collected as she spoke.
Laughter erupted from the bed and it was filled with sarcasm as well as an evil that she knew had to be destroyed.
"You think that you’re stronger than me?" The question from Sam was followed with more laughter.
"You don’t know how strong I am woman, I will kill you! And I’m gonna enjoy every second of it."
Evelyn drew closer to the young man who was speaking.
"No, you’re wrong, I know more than you think. You will die Aurora, that I’m sure of." Evelyn spoke sharply and took a step back before walking over toward the corner of the room.
"Really? Stupid old woman! What are you gonna do? It’s too late, I control this child now, he’s mine. Kill me and you kill him. Are you prepared to do that? Are you prepared to sacrifice this boy for what you think is the greater good? Do you have it in you? Can you do it?" The young man’s eyes watched Evelyn’s every movement and a sick smile rested calmly on his lips.
"If that’s what it takes, but I don’t intend to hurt that young man anymore than you already have. And do you know why, Aurora?" Evelyn asked .
"Why don’t you tell me." Sam replied maliciously.
"I know that, because it seems that you’ve forgotten one very important factor." Evelyn gazed into Sam’s dark eyes.
"Oh yeah? And what would that be?" Sam asked.
"You’ve forgotten that it’s a dangerous thing to mess with a Loa, especially the one that you conjured up. This one’s nasty, Aurora, very nasty, and it’ll turn on you in an instant. I mean, what if someone were to set it free? Where would you be then, my old friend?" Evelyn smiled and then returned to her preparation.
"Evelyn you don’t know what your doing!" There was desperation in the voice that came from Sam’s lips and he struggled against the restraints that held him.
"You see, that’s where you’re wrong. I know exactly what I’m doing. The question is, are you ready?" Evelyn walked over and placed a rag over the mouth of the young man, she pushed against the resistance as she shoved the rag in further.
"This conversation is over, Aurora." Evelyn stated.
Once again, she was met by dark eyes that stared up at her, followed by more struggling. The woman’s attention was drawn to the sound of the front door closing. She watched the empty doorway to the room and waited for Dean to appear at it. When he did, she plunged right into what had to be done.
"Hurry Dean! Let’s get this over with!" The old woman grabbed the doll from Dean and a feathered object, one in each hand.
"You know what to do?" She asked the oldest brother.
"Yeah, sure do." Dean responded as he stood at the other side of the bed, holding a clay jar.
He tilted the jar above his brother’s struggling form and the chanting began. Dean tried his best to ignore the struggling and the muffled screams from the bed. There was a job that had to be done, and he couldn’t let his concern for his brother interrupt that job.
‘Hang in there, Sammy. This will all be over soon.’ Dean thought to himself.
He poured the crimson liquid from the jar onto his little brother. A wince marred the oldest man’s features when, upon contact with Sam’s forehead, the liquid began to sizzle. Worry took hold and he immediately looked to Evelyn for reassurance. He didn’t want to continue hurting his brother if the chanting wasn’t working. Sam had been through enough already, he didn’t need to go through any more pain than necessary.
Without pausing the chanting, Evelyn nodded, catching the look of worry on the young hunter’s face. A few seconds later, Sam’s body began to shake violently; the restraints took on some of the convulsing by keeping him on the bed as his back arched and his body began to curl in on itself before plummeting back onto the mattress of the bed.
When the chanting ended, silence filled the room and the Dean and Evelyn stepped back from the bed as a red mist began to rise from Sam’s body. It shifted and swirled before touching down on the ground. The rising of the mist was slow and painfully silent as all waited for the verdict.
As the final traces of the mist rose from Sam, it was engulfed by a black vapour that shot violently from the youngest brother’s weakened body. The vapour absorbed the red mist and swirled to form a dark figure that stood in the far corner of the room.
"Shit!" Dean spat as he reached for his weapon.
"Is that supposed to happen?" He called with concern.
The hunter quickly walked around the bed and situated himself in the area between Sam, Evelyn and Celia and the dark shape that watched him silently from the shadows.
"Dean! Use the potion!" Evelyn replied quickly, avoiding the question and handing Dean a glass beaker of purple liquid.
Summary: Sam is sick with what appears to be a stomach bug, Dean must find out what it is as the situation gets worse. Mystery and angst in this...also contains graphic scenes
Characters/Pairings: Gen, Dean, Sam, Mild Dean/OC, other OCs
Author:
chocca2
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: *sigh* No, I don’t own them, I don’t own much, in fact there have been questions surrounding the ownership of my mind. However, saying that, any characters you don’t recognize have been derived from my head.
Warnings: Violence, graphic descriptions, Strong language, Dark fic
Author’s Note: This was done a while ago so its set around season one. It was my first SN fanfic and originally posted on Fanfiction.net. It's quite a long story (around 30,000 words in total) so will post a few chapters at a time to make a bit more manageable to read. Reviews are very welcome!
(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7)
Dean approached the bed, gazing at Sam and shaking his head over the encounter they had just had with Cameron. The older brother refrained from speaking until he was sure that there was no one in the hallway. He sunk on the bed next to Sam.
"That guy just rubs me up the wrong way!" Dean frowned as he spoke.
"I hate to say this, but I think your right. There’s definitely something up with him Dean, I…" Sam placed a hand on his forehead and attempted the sooth away the headache that had steadily began to build.
A simple smile slipped across Dean’s face when he heard his baby brother admit that he was actually right.
"I’m always right Sammy!" The oldest Winchester replied. Slowly the grin that he wore faded to a look of concern.
"Hey, I think you need to take this." Dean offered Sam a cup with the same mixture that Celia had given him earlier.
The young hunter looked blankly at the cup and then back at Dean. His stomach rolled and twisted at the thought of anything passing through his lips. However, upon remembering the small, but precious relief the stuff had brought to his body earlier, he accepted what was offered and reached for the cup. His attempt at gripping the handle failed miserably and he nearly spilled the warm liquid over himself.
Dean caught the cup and watched as Sam sighed, placing his head back against the headboard. Sam breathed out, defeated. Now, he not only felt weak, but helpless as well, not to mention feeling embarrassed that he had become so dependent on his brother for even the smallest of tasks.
Dean sensed the younger man’s frustration. He hated to see Sam this way. Dean would do anything for the other Winchester in less than a split second, without even thinking about it. However, he also knew that the entire situation was prime ground for an emotional breakdown on either of their parts.
"It won’t be as comforting as when Celia helped you, but I’ll do what I can." Dean spoke with a grin on his face, amused by his own attempt to lighten the mood.
Dean held the cup up to Sam’s lips and offered the drink. Sam took the last sip and swallowed hard, trying to keep the liquid down. He took deep breaths as he concentrated on the simple task of swallowing. His head was still throbbing and the many thoughts that frantically raced through his mind made him feel dizzy when he tried to make sense of them.
‘Cameron? What is it? Why? Don’t trust him! Celia, she will help. Dean trusts her. If he does, why shouldn’t I? That voice! Why?’ Sam’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a knock on the door.
‘This is different.’ Sam thought, seeing as the knock was actually more of a tap, followed by the familiar voice of Celia.
"Hey, Sam?" Celia began. She ceased speaking and cast her eyes toward Dean as she walked over to the bed.
"Sam, I’ve called a friend of mine, well actually she was my teacher and mentor. Either way, she’s one of the best priestesses there are and we’re going to try and stop what Aurora has done to you." Celia finished.
Dean nodded in response to the news that Celia had brought and turned to watch Sam, who looked into Celia’s eyes with a confused expression as he tried to take in what she had just told him.
"She’s on her way now and she should be here in a few minutes." Celia placed her hand onto Sam’s forehead and brushed away some of his brown locks so she could better see his face. His head flopped back onto the headboard and he closed his eyes against the spinning room.
"Oh honey, you’re burning up." She spoke softy and turned to Dean who was once again pacing around the room, anxious for his brother.
"The pain should ease off soon Sammy, this will all be over in good time. I promise." There was something about Celia’s voice that Sam found to be very comforting, her fragrance, and her appearance were all so soft and warm.
Then he closed his eyes and thought of the only woman that had ever been able to make him feel safe. He thought about how much he missed Jessica’s love. Sam opened his eyes to stare into Celia’s, she responded with a smile that lit up the room.
‘She would’ve been good for Dean, I can see why he likes her.’ He thought as he passed his gaze to his brother.
"Sit down Dean, you’re making me even dizzier." Sam knew his brother well enough to recognize his nervous traits.
"Come and sit here Dean, I’ll be back soon." Celia stood and offered the seat next to the bed. Dean accepted it immediately.
"Thanks Celia, for everything." Dean smiled and watched her walk out of the room.
He knew that she had deliberately left them to give them time to talk and he was grateful for that.
"I can see why you like her Dean, she’s really nice." Sam grinned as he spoke and watched his brother’s eyes widen.
"Glad you noticed Sammy, she is amazing isn’t she? Man, if she wasn’t with that ass Cameron…" Dean’s expression said it all as he savoured the thought of being with a woman like Celia.
"Dean there’s something about him that makes me feel uneasy." Although Sam’s voice had been raspy pretty much since this whole thing started, it cleared up when he mentioned Cameron.
"I hear ya bro, this isn’t even about me and Celia either. I just don’t like him. In fact, I’m surprised that you feel the same way, I mean you never listen to my rare talent of people judgement, even though I’ve told you time and time again that I’m always right, even when I'm wrong." Dean spoke to his brother lightly, playfully nudging him.
"Dean, your judgement never turned me over to your side, I just feel it. I don’t know what it is, but I sense something funny." Sam’s face was serious as he spoke. He looked at Dean, who suddenly clicked into what Sam was talking about.
"So it’s your physic thing?" Dean straightened.
Frowning at Dean’s choice of words Sam replied "Yeah kind of, I don’t know…Just…" Sam stopped as pain consumed him.
A light tap on the door was followed by Celia opening it and walking in. She cast her gaze to Dean, who was now standing.
"Guys I’d like you to meet Evelyn. She knows almost everything there is know about all this, you’ll be safe in her hands." Celia smiled and made room for the woman behind her to step beyond the doorframe.
Dean greeted the new woman with a smile and nodded as he observed her appearance. She was short and plump, and wore a floral dress that complemented her dark skin. Her greying black hair was pulled into a French plait. Evelyn was old, although she appeared to have aged well. Dean followed her with his eyes as she walked over to Sam and was distracted when Sam suddenly gasped in shock at the sight of Evelyn.
Dean watched Sam shake his head and become increasingly upset by the woman’s presence.
"Please, don’t. Stay away from me, you’re not safe, please." Sam begged and looked over at his brother with frantic eyes for help.
Sam’s pleading turned into a sob and Dean couldn’t watch the turmoil any longer. He approached Sam and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It’s okay Sammy. What’s wrong?" Dean questioned as he looked over at Celia and Evelyn, noting their confusion.
"It’s okay Sam. When you’re ready, we can talk." Evelyn turned without a further word and walked out of the room. Celia, who gave Dean a confused shrug, followed Evelyn out.
Dean mouthed a sorry as he watched the door close behind them.
"Sammy? She’s gone, you gonna tell me what’s wrong bro?" He spoke lightly as he sat on the bed.
"Dean, she’s the one from my vision, the one I…" He swallowed the bile that rose while he spoke.
"I saw myself kill her Dean, I slit her throat and drained her blood. I can taste it in my mouth." Sam fought the urge to retch and closed his eyes tightly.
"Hey, it’s gonna be okay kiddo. She’s here to help. You’re safe in this room, we all are." Dean closed his hand tighter around Sam’s shoulder.
"I won’t let you ki…" Dean paused and watched Sam’s eyes widen before continuing with a better choice of words. "Nothing’s going to happen, okay?"
------
Cameron sat hunched in corner of the bathroom with the phone pressed firmly against his ear. He spoke quietly so he wouldn’t be heard and turned the water on for background noise.
"Yes…Yes! It’s done, okay! He drank every drop." Cameron wiped away the sweat that had gathered on his brow. There was a pause as the person on the other end of the phone spoke.
"No! I’m not going to do anymore. They’ll get suspicious. I’m out! You hear me! Leave me alone!"
Cameron’s eyes frantically flitted about the bathroom and he breathed heavily. He closed the phone and placed it into his pocket with shaking hands.
------
Celia placed her warm palms over the top of Evelyn’s who was holding tight to a mug of sweet tea.
"I’m sorry Evelyn, Sammy’s been through so much. He’s just so…" She paused and rubbed Evelyn’s hand before pulling away and rising from the kitchen table.
"Oh it’s okay honey, don’t apologize. I understand, that poor boy." She sighed before continuing.
"I think he saw something. I mean, by his reaction I could tell that he had seen me before…" Evelyn spoke in a soft and soothing manner, whether she was trying to or not. Calmly, she took another sip of tea and smiled at the young lady standing before her.
"Now, you did give Sam the tea we talked about, right?" She asked politely.
"Yes, I did" Celia nodded and returned the friendly smile that Evelyn offered.
She relaxed, as the words spoken by the older woman seemed to ease the stress and tension bombarding her mind. Celia chuckled quietly and playfully shook her head, remembering why she cared so much for Evelyn.
"Thank you!" Celia spoke and the words were truly and extremely genuine, as was the smile resting softly on her lips.
"What for, honey?" Evelyn gazed at Celia with a slightly puzzled expression.
Celia continued to shake her head gently.
"Just for being you. I’m so glad that you’re here, not just for Sam, but…I’m just happy to have you around. You always make me feel safe…" Celia’s voice broke slightly as her emotions fluttered to the surface.
She looked away and walked over to the sink. With her back turned, she breathed deeply and tried to gather her shattered composure, if only to grasp her rapidly failing dignity and save herself the embarrassment of breaking down in front of Evelyn.
Evelyn saw straight through her act and sighed quietly before speaking with a friendly, but firm voice. "Honey, when this whole thing with Sam is over, you and I need to have a talk! I know you Celia Murphy, probably better than you know yourself, and you’re not fooling me!"
Celia nodded and wiped away the tear that had escaped to fall softly on her cheek. She felt like the innocent little girl that she had once been as she returned to the kind hearted woman who had practically raised her from birth.
‘I love you too Evelyn.’ She thought. With a helpless sigh, she returned to the task that stretched out ahead of her.
0o0o0o
In the bathroom, Cameron bent low, over sink and tried nervously to calm himself. He turned on the taps and filled his hands with cold water that he roughly splashed over his face.
"Shit!" He cursed when the water splattered onto his shirt and trousers.
‘Get a grip, Cameron!’ He told himself.
He slowly brushed away the water that trailed down his pant legs before straightening and gazing into the mirror. A look of complete blankness mauled his features. When a few seconds had passed ticking away one by one, feeling like an eternity, he smiled at his reflection.
‘Dean Winchester, get used to it, Celia is mine!’ With that thought clinging to his mind and keeping his sanity grounded, he left the room, closing the door behind him.
0o0o0o
"Hey Sammy, will you be okay for a minute if I go and check on the progress being made out there?" Dean asked, motioning to the door.
In all actuality, he was desperate for the bathroom, but thought that it would do anything, but make Sam feel any better, if Dean were to tell him his true purpose. After all, Sam was miserably stuck with using the bedpan and Dean was free to come and go as he pleased. Patiently, Dean waited at the door for an answer, before moving into the hall.
"Hmm, I feel kinda…" Sam scrunched up his face upon feeling his stomach twist in a nauseating motion. He groaned, and the sound he uttered was loud enough for his older brother to hear.
Dean immediately rushed to his younger brother, recognizing the familiar facial expression.
"Whoa, hang on Sammy!" Dean spoke, grabbing for the bin at the side of the bed.
"It’s Sam." The young man on the bed moaned.
"I think I’m okay…" Sam mumbled as he pushed away the bin that was shoved in front of his face.
"Go, I’ll be fine." Sam tried his best to sound fine when he spoke, but Dean wasn’t fooled by the whole act his brother was putting forth. However, he ignored it, allowing Sam to feel as though he’d won, to soothe the younger Winchester’s desperation for independence.
"Okay then, I’ll be back in minute." Dean watched his brother closely for a reply, but only got a nod. He took that as good enough and walked into the hallway.
In the hall, Dean found Cameron standing by the bedroom door. An overwhelming sense of anger boiled from inside of him when he thought of that man getting anywhere near Sam, again.
‘Okay, just stay cool. Be civil with this jerk, even if it’s only for Celia’s sake. You can handle this in a perfectly mannerly way, just think of something nice to say. Compliment his shirt, well maybe not, it looks like something from a trash bin. Okay, forget about the damn compliments, this thing doesn’t deserve any. Just ask him what the hell he thinks he’s doing snooping around Sammy’s door, but totally tone it down, but don’t be too nice or he’ll think of you as a pushover. I am so not a pushover! Just…speak.’ Dean thought to himself.
The older brother scrolled through possible insults that he could sugar coat so the attempts to shatter Cameron's pride would go undetected.
"Um, you going somewhere?" Dean questioned.
‘Damn! Not exactly the extraordinarily brilliant jab that I was hoping for. Ah well, it’ll have to do.’ Dean held the curse inside as he looked away from the prying eyes locked on him.
‘Say something else! Don’t you dare let this jerk get the upper hand this time, or any time!’ Dean carried on the conversation with himself, while once again speaking to Cameron with pure vehemence and dislike in his words.
"I thought we already discussed this, Sam is not up for friendly conversation right now!" He added. For good measure he tossed one of his carefully perfected and classic, 'by-the-way-I-hate-your-guts', grins.
Cameron chuckled lightly, ignoring the look that Dean was giving him, before once again speaking.
"Actually, I was looking for Celia." Cameron brushed his hand over his nose as he spoke.
"Oh yeah? Well she’s not in there!" Dean walked away and pulled another uncivilized facial expression that, luckily, went unseen by Cameron.
"Dean…" Celia sighed as she watched the young man walk in to the kitchen, followed by Cameron who looked incredibly pissed.
‘Just great, now what’s happened?’ She thought.
"Cameron?" Her voice lowered slightly and she tried to hide the disappointment that she felt.
"Hey! How’s everything going? Is it ready yet?" Dean’s eyes crossed over the two women as they continued with the preparation for Sam’s voodoo ceremony.
Dean completely ignored Cameron, who was standing quietly behind him, clearly gesturing defeat in his posture.
‘Whoo! Score one for the Dean team! That jerk’s got nothin’ on me!’ Dean thought in raw satisfaction.
"Err, so how can I help?" Cameron asked. He moved in front of Dean and walked toward Celia, who briefly gazed into his eyes, noting his strange behaviour.
"It’s all done now…" She smiled and cast a hurried glance to Dean before moving toward Evelyn.
"It sure is! We’ll be ready in about five minutes!" Evelyn spoke cheerfully. She continued to flick through the old and tattered book.
Dean walked over to the tray and observed all of the freaky items placed on it with an odd sort of face. Before he made another move, his bladder reminded him of what his previous intentions had been.
"I’ll be right back" He tossed over his shoulder as he left the kitchen.
Cameron watched the young hunter leave the room and sat at the table to watch the women continue their final preparations. He let out a loud sigh and rubbed his face as jumbled thoughts of what he had done ran through his mind.
‘I hope he drank it.’ Followed by, ‘They had better leave us the hell alone now!’ fluttered through his mind, but he quickly shook away the thoughts and returned to watching Celia.
Celia heard Cameron sigh and felt guilt invade her mind. Something was wrong. It had been for a while and he knew it as well as she did!
Evelyn felt the tension building in the room and stood from her book, slamming the cover shut.
"Right, let’s do this!" Evelyn replied.
"Dean will be back soon. Cameron, honey, could you help me with this tray? Let’s get everything to Sam now!" Celia ordered.
Immediately, Cameron got to his feet and grabbed the tray in question. With a smile, he followed the two women out of the kitchen and down the hall to Sam’s room.
Celia placed her hand onto the cold handle leading to where Sam was and she gently turned it. The door yelped open with a low squeal of the hinges and the room was shrouded in complete darkness. Her heart skipped a beat and she reached for the light switch. When the light flooded the room she gasped at the sight of an empty bed.
"Sammy?" She called out as she slowly walked into the room, followed closely by Evelyn.
Cameron lingered in his position outside of the bedroom and watched the women cautiously venture inside.
Celia’s eyes frantically darted from side to side as she searched the small room. The darting stopped and passed over the young Winchester standing in the darkest corner of the room. A racing heart fluttered in her chest as her mind searched for answers. Why was Sam out of bed? How had he managed to get up? What was he doing in the corner?
"Sam, what are you doing?" Celia asked with a hint of fear and concern.
There was no answer. She gave Evelyn a quick look, before starting to approach the man in the shadows.
"Celia, NO!" She heard the cry shatter through the room, before everything went black….
------
Dean slowly eased his aching body in the direction of Sam's room and groaned when he rubbed his forehead.
The throbbing that was building up inside his head reminded the young man of previous events that had come to pass. He let out another sigh and thought about how much more his little brother had gone through and how the younger Winchester was still suffering.
The numbing silence that filled the hallway caused Dean to stop suddenly. His eyes wandered toward the door that closed off Sam's room from the rest of the house. He paused for a few more seconds before sinking into the familiar mode of the hunter. Slowly, he pulled his gun from his back pocket and cautiously made his way to Sam's room.
Dean placed his hand on the cool wood of the barely ajar door and gave it a careful push with his fingertips. He cursed aloud when the door opened to reveal a dark and unlit room.
“Sam?” He didn’t hide his concern as he called out to his brother. He drew in a deep breath and bit his lip before creeping into the darkness.
“Celia? Evelyn!” He yelled out.
He stood in the doorway, sensing the presence of someone in the shadows of the room. Soft, yet strained breathing whispered in the darkness and he repositioned himself so he was better prepared. He hovered one of his hands over the lightswitch and the other tightly grasped the handle of the weapon that he held at the ready.
In one, swift motion, he flipped the switch and a piercing glow flooded the room. Almost immediately, he recoiled in shock and dropped his gun. A few silent moments passed where there was not so much as a shudder of movement in the stillness. Dean observed the scene that was scattered before him with shallow breath.
Sam lay unconscious and cradled against Evelyn's right side, while Celia was cradled at Evelyn's left side. The older woman held both the figures tightly against her as though protecting them from the many evils of the world. Evelyn seemed unaware of Dean's presence in the room as she hummed quietly, hushing the prone bodies that lay against her.
Dean shook himself from his state of shock and slowly approached them. He placed a shaking hand against Sam's forehead and for once was thankful to feel the fever burning beneath his gentle touch.
“What happened?” He asked quietly as he brushed the hand through Sam’s hair and then his attention faded to Celia.
Evelyn finally acknowledged Dean. Her worried eyes stared directly into
his and she shook her head.
“I need your help!” She spoke with emotion and a tear ran down her cheek.
------------------------------------------
7 minutes earlier
Celia gasped for breath as the firm hold on her neck tightened. She struggled to fight against the grip that was working on squeezing the life from her lungs. She looked into the younger man’s eyes, only seeing pure evil boiling within them.
As she turned her head, she saw the familiar and comforting face of Evelyn.
The woman, who was standing in front of the two of them, placed her lips together and blew. A nearly transparent dust flew from her palm and straight into both Sam's and Celia's unsuspecting faces.The twoof them inhaled the polluted air and choked as they fell to the ground.
------
Cameron could feel his heart beating painfully against his ribs as he watched Celia take small steps toward Sam. A drop of perspiration rolled down his face and hit against the tray that he was holding firmly against his chest.The pressure growing within him, caused him to shudder as he placed a foot
toward the door.
The tray was flung against him as the unseen force within kept him from entering.
"What? Celia, NO!”
He once again attempted to place his foot inside the room.
“No, this is not meant to happen! You promised! No please!” He cried as he was forced back.
Before he could make another attempt, he saw Celia and Sam fall to the
ground, followed by a loud noise and the door slammed shut in front of
him.
----------------------------------------------
“Take your brother Dean, before… he…it wakes up.” Evelyn replied. Dean gave her a sharp, shocked gaze as he lifted Sam’s arm.
“What are you talking about? Sam was safe in here. What happened?” Dean
didn’t wait for an answer as he took his brother’s weight and carried the
young man to the bed.
“Dean, someone, I think Cameron, did this! You need to tie him up, we're not
safe anymore!” Evelyn voiced her concern as she spoke. She held Celia’s limp
body closer and began to rub her back.
“You need to hurry Dean!” Dean tried to remember where he had placed the hand cuffs that he had hoped would be of no further use.
“Sorry kiddo.” Dean whispered as he pressed the cuffs on, restraining
his brother once more.
“She gonna be okay? What’s wrong them?” Dean helped lift Celia as Evelyn
slowly crawled out and stood next to him.
“I had no choice, I had a feeling something was wrong. They should be okay
soon, Sam will, but I’m worried about Celia.” Evelyn followed as Dean lifted
Celia into his arms and placed her into a chair opposite to the bed.
“What do we need to do?” Dean brushed a lock of hair from the unconscious
woman's face and turned to his brother.
“The Loa is controlling your brother, and for now she is controlling the
Loa. She doesn’t what she's done!” Evelyn paced slightly as she assed the damage to the items in the room.
“Dean, we need to hurry to save him, the longer it possess him more damage
it is doing to him, he is becoming her zombie and will no longer be Sam.” She
lifted a candle and began to walk around the room.
“Can’t we do something to get this out of him and back to wherever it came
from” Dean questioned knowing deep down that things were never simple when it came to supernatural beings.
“We can’t do that. She conjured it, it’s connected to her, meaning she’s
connected to Sam she will have control Sam’s powers” Evelyn paused and
turned away.
“Powers? You mean his vision? What aren’t you telling me? You know more
about this don’t you?” Dean walked closer to gain the attention of Evelyn
before they were both interrupted by the stirring on the bed.
“Sam?” Dean questioned as he approached his brother.
“Dean no! Be careful!” Evelyn stepped back from the bed and moved closer to where Celia was laying.
“That’s right Deany, be careful!” The youngest brother's voice was horse, although he spoke firmly in a sarcastic tone.
“Where the hell is my brother?” Dean asked viciously, standing over Sam’s body.
------------
The young man that lay on the bed sniggered at the question.
"Unfortunately, Sammy is still here. He just wont give up. I must say, he’s a fighter." The evil grin that followed made Dean twitch as he tried to absorbed what exactly was playing out before him.
‘Sammy’s in there, somewhere.’
"I swear, if you hurt him…" Dean’s anger seethed through his words and he paused for a few seconds to regain the composure that he had lost.
"If you hurt my little brother, I swear I will kill you and send you back to wherever the hell you came from!" Dean snapped.
Sam gasped and his face showed nothing, but mock fear. The sarcastic expression painted on the youngest Winchester’s face once again served to remind Dean that Sam was not the one speaking to him.
The eldest brother continued to gaze at young man and his eyes softened just a bit when he saw how truly weak Sam was. Nearly all of the colour was drained from Sam’s face. His eyes were sunken in and ugly, dark circles taunted him from beneath the lower lids. Coupled with the mysterious markings that marred the younger’s features, Dean could truly see every weakness that Sam had, and that scared him more than the voice snarling from within the young one’s throat, that and the fact that Dean could see death’s hunger creeping quickly over his baby brother. Every fibre of the oldest Winchester ached and he cursed himself for failing to protect Sam in a situation such as this.
‘Sammy, you gotta hang in there. Please, just hold on until I can figure this out.’
"Dean…Honey I know it’s hard but we have to keep it together." Evelyn spoke softly in the hopes of comforting the young man with an internal struggle painted on his face.
Dean gazed slowly around the room and yet again took in his surroundings. He brushed his fingers through his hair and a troubled sigh escaped his lips, a sigh that he was helpless to stop.
"How’s she doing?" He asked, drawing closer and placing a hand upon Celia’s cool skin.
Evelyn shook her head before answering. "It wasn’t meant for her, Dean." The woman’s voice was silent and she looked desperately up at the young hunter standing before her.
"I had no choice." The regret and fear that filled Evelyn’s eyes caused chills to shiver up his spine.
The older woman looked into Dean’s eyes. She wasn’t afraid to show her despair. They remained locked, in that same position for what seemed like forever, but only mer moments truly passed. However, a few moments was just enough time for both of them to grasp the drifting tendrils of composure and pull it back to them.
"Lets do this." Dean replied as he forced himself into hunter mode.. Evelyn allowed herself a faint smile and nodded.
"Okay, here’s what we have to do..."
--------------------------
Cameron crouched behind a bush, trying to hide his tall frame as much as possible. Thorns and prickles scraped deep into his skin and he winced at the pain they triggered. His breath came in frantic gasps as he struggled to remain quiet.
Cameron shifted and slowly moved closer to the window. He used a single leg to balance himself and push him up the rough wall, ignoring the ranches that dug into. He squinted through the bush and into the window where he searched left and right, but found only an empty room. A sigh of relief escaped into the night and he relaxed a bit as he continued to peer into the room.
"Shit!" He exclaimed when his right foot slipped.
Immediately, he looked down in an attempt to regain his footing in the soil that was slowly swallowing his foot. With a racing heart, he chuckled lightly to himself upon realizing the overreaction he was giving.
‘Get a grip!’ He mentally scolded himself before raising his head to gaze into the room once again.
He scanned the windowpane and he stumbled back a bit when his eyes locked with a pair of dark ones that seemed to stare straight through him.
------------------------------------------
"Are sure you’ll be okay?" Dean questioned with hesitation.
Dread boiled inside of him at the thought of leaving Evelyn alone with both Sam and Celia, not to mention the thing inside of Sam and the fact that Celia was unconscious and wouldn’t be able to help, if Evelyn needed it.
"Honey, we’ve gone through this. There’s no other choice. You’ve got to go to Aurora’s and do what we agreed." Evelyn shot Dean a warning glance to cut off his protest, and that made the young hunter think that she could read his mind.
The instructions that Evelyn had given him left little room for much else, but that didn’t stop him from imagining what he was going to do to the woman that had done this to Sam, with or without instructions.
"Okay, I’m going. I’ll be back as soon as I can." Dean remained still for a few moments before picking up his bag of supplies.
"Call if you ne…Never mind, I’m gone." He muttered upon seeing the warning from Evelyn once again. He turned away and left the room, leaving Evelyn behind and hating every second of it.
-------------------------------------------
Dean knew that the plan was dangerous, and not just to him or to Sam, but to everyone that was involved.
His head was bombarded with thoughts as he drove to his destination. He thought about Sam, about Aurora and Cameron. He gritted his teeth when he thought of Cameron. Everything that Dean had suspected or, wanted to suspect about the man had ben confirmed as the situation had unfolded.
Evelyn had explained the sabotage involved in Sam’s sudden turn and she’d also explained that in order for it to play out right, Aurora would have had to have inside help. That inside help had to have been Cameron, he was the only one that it could be.
Dean shook away all of the thoughts and the rage. He knew he had to stay focused. He had to go to Aurora’s, destroy the altar or shrine, exorcise Sam and then kill Cameron...Well, he didn’t have to kill Cameron, but he was sure as hell going to teach him not to mess with a Winchester.
He grasped the steering wheel and kept driving.
-----------------------------------------------
The drive seemed to take forever, but when he looked at his watch, he realized that only fifteen minutes had actually passed. He drew the car to a stop and got out to gather his supplies.
With a final survey of his surroundings, he drew a breath and started the descent to his target.
------
Dean located the shrine easy enough, but felt uneasy about the house being so empty and quiet. Not even a creak from the floorboards drew his attention.
There was nothing. His instincts told him that this whole thing was too easy, he should’ve at least been met with some resistence, but he wasn’t.
Before continuing, he scanned the walls one last time and spotted a door that he had missed. He sighed apprehensively and began to slowly make his way toward it. Before getting there, however, a thick, sticky substance squished under the soles of his shoes. A colourful curse was muttered miserably and he lifted his foot in an attempt to see what he’d stepped into.
The door in front of him slowly crept open with an audible squeal that cried out at him. The young hunter tensed and brought his weapon t the ready as he waited for whatever was going to come.
He leapt back in alarm when a body fell from the door and hit the ground in front of him.
"Fuck!" he exclaimed, and stood, temporarily shocked at what had happened.
A quick shock of guilt sliced through him, stemming from the thoughts that he had had only a few moments before about Cameron, who now lay at his feet. He placed a hand over his face as Celia came to mind.
This wasn’t supposed to be part of the plan...
-----------
Dean frowned as he looked down at the body below him.
‘Yep, he’s dead, that’s a no brainer.’ He thought as he analysed the wounds that were most likely the cause of death.
The large slash stretching from one end of the throat to the other was likely what had done Cameron in. Dean stepped back away from the pool of blood that was slowly creeping around him and he edged away from the body before he turned his attention back to the issue at hand.
As he approached the shrine, he saw what he needed to take as well as what he was instructed to destroy. The room darkened a little when he blew out the pyramid of candles on the table, but it didn’t even faze him, he and Sam did most of their hunting in the dark because as he’d told Sam before, ‘the freaks come out at night.’ And boy wasn’t that the truth...
He secured a rag doll firmly under his arm and shook his head, allowing a small bit of amusement to cross his face. He must’ve looked like such a sissy, carrying a doll around. If some other guys were to see the doll under Dean’s arm, his ego and macho status would be completely shot.
‘Isn’t Aurora a little old to be playing with dolls?’ Dean thought wryly.
He shook his head again and looked down at the doll.
"Crazy ass witch." He muttered.
After retrieving everything that he needed, he gripped the end of the oak table and flipped it, causing all of the contents to go clattering across the floor. A slight hint of relief washed over him and he glared at the mess that he’d created. Once satisfied that he had done his job, he walked out of the room, not looking back.
------------------------------------
"Aurora? Whatever happened to you?" Evelyn walked around Sam’s bed to the right side and looked down at the young man’s body on the bed in pity.
Sam licked his lips and the response that she got was, "Me! What happened to you? I thought you were strong. You even looked up to me at one point," The young man held his nose up in an attempt to show his disgust.
"But, look at you now, look how pathetic you’ve become, woman!" Sam finished.
Evelyn flinched at the words. She was strong, she’d known what to expect, but the words still pierced through her when she heard them spoken by the young man. The piercing wasn’t because Sam was speaking the words, but it was because Aurora was using Sam to speak the words. The words were coming from a woman whom Evelyn had once thought of as a friend.
"You’re not getting away with this! I won’t let you hurt that poor boy or anyone else!" Evelyn’s voice was stern and collected as she spoke.
Laughter erupted from the bed and it was filled with sarcasm as well as an evil that she knew had to be destroyed.
"You think that you’re stronger than me?" The question from Sam was followed with more laughter.
"You don’t know how strong I am woman, I will kill you! And I’m gonna enjoy every second of it."
Evelyn drew closer to the young man who was speaking.
"No, you’re wrong, I know more than you think. You will die Aurora, that I’m sure of." Evelyn spoke sharply and took a step back before walking over toward the corner of the room.
"Really? Stupid old woman! What are you gonna do? It’s too late, I control this child now, he’s mine. Kill me and you kill him. Are you prepared to do that? Are you prepared to sacrifice this boy for what you think is the greater good? Do you have it in you? Can you do it?" The young man’s eyes watched Evelyn’s every movement and a sick smile rested calmly on his lips.
"If that’s what it takes, but I don’t intend to hurt that young man anymore than you already have. And do you know why, Aurora?" Evelyn asked .
"Why don’t you tell me." Sam replied maliciously.
"I know that, because it seems that you’ve forgotten one very important factor." Evelyn gazed into Sam’s dark eyes.
"Oh yeah? And what would that be?" Sam asked.
"You’ve forgotten that it’s a dangerous thing to mess with a Loa, especially the one that you conjured up. This one’s nasty, Aurora, very nasty, and it’ll turn on you in an instant. I mean, what if someone were to set it free? Where would you be then, my old friend?" Evelyn smiled and then returned to her preparation.
"Evelyn you don’t know what your doing!" There was desperation in the voice that came from Sam’s lips and he struggled against the restraints that held him.
"You see, that’s where you’re wrong. I know exactly what I’m doing. The question is, are you ready?" Evelyn walked over and placed a rag over the mouth of the young man, she pushed against the resistance as she shoved the rag in further.
"This conversation is over, Aurora." Evelyn stated.
Once again, she was met by dark eyes that stared up at her, followed by more struggling. The woman’s attention was drawn to the sound of the front door closing. She watched the empty doorway to the room and waited for Dean to appear at it. When he did, she plunged right into what had to be done.
"Hurry Dean! Let’s get this over with!" The old woman grabbed the doll from Dean and a feathered object, one in each hand.
"You know what to do?" She asked the oldest brother.
"Yeah, sure do." Dean responded as he stood at the other side of the bed, holding a clay jar.
He tilted the jar above his brother’s struggling form and the chanting began. Dean tried his best to ignore the struggling and the muffled screams from the bed. There was a job that had to be done, and he couldn’t let his concern for his brother interrupt that job.
‘Hang in there, Sammy. This will all be over soon.’ Dean thought to himself.
He poured the crimson liquid from the jar onto his little brother. A wince marred the oldest man’s features when, upon contact with Sam’s forehead, the liquid began to sizzle. Worry took hold and he immediately looked to Evelyn for reassurance. He didn’t want to continue hurting his brother if the chanting wasn’t working. Sam had been through enough already, he didn’t need to go through any more pain than necessary.
Without pausing the chanting, Evelyn nodded, catching the look of worry on the young hunter’s face. A few seconds later, Sam’s body began to shake violently; the restraints took on some of the convulsing by keeping him on the bed as his back arched and his body began to curl in on itself before plummeting back onto the mattress of the bed.
When the chanting ended, silence filled the room and the Dean and Evelyn stepped back from the bed as a red mist began to rise from Sam’s body. It shifted and swirled before touching down on the ground. The rising of the mist was slow and painfully silent as all waited for the verdict.
As the final traces of the mist rose from Sam, it was engulfed by a black vapour that shot violently from the youngest brother’s weakened body. The vapour absorbed the red mist and swirled to form a dark figure that stood in the far corner of the room.
"Shit!" Dean spat as he reached for his weapon.
"Is that supposed to happen?" He called with concern.
The hunter quickly walked around the bed and situated himself in the area between Sam, Evelyn and Celia and the dark shape that watched him silently from the shadows.
"Dean! Use the potion!" Evelyn replied quickly, avoiding the question and handing Dean a glass beaker of purple liquid.