(no subject)
For the first time Dean was grateful for the scorching heat. Because of it the water temperature was above average, otherwise sitting in there for close to seven hours would have led to a mild case of hypothermia of his own. As his was, his skin looked like that of a prune. The worst thing so was the time, when people walked close by them. Not really thinking the situation through, the older Winchester had just reacted and bent over his limp brother, holding him in a tight embrace and burying his face against Sam’s cheek until he heard the foot steps retreat.
Remembering the laughter and the small childlike voice asking, “Mommy, are those men gay?”, with the stressed mother answering, “Don’t look, Daniel!” followed by a “How disgusting!”, he still felt the heat rising in his face.
“You have no idea what I’m going through for you, kiddo.” He said, adding after a short pause, “And I hope it will stay that way.”
He knew the kid would never let him live that one down. I would have preferred having a better plan, but this was still preferable over countless questions why he was keeping his unconscious brother, whose skin color continued to be gray and bluish, afloat in the water instead of taking him to a hospital.
Trying to kill the waiting time, he told Sam about the dates he’d set up for tonight, describing the girls in every detail and picturing his brother’s reaction to some of those things he revealed.
“Really Sammy, you are such a geek, but I’m sure you’ll like Silvana, she is just as much a geek as you are.”
Switching positions carefully as to not get Sam’s head under water, he looked at him for a long time, before he continued, “Guess we’ll have to move those dates to another day. You might not feel up to it tonight.”
He continued to talk, mostly about silly things they did when they were kids, pranks they played on their dad and one another but also some of the more serious things they’ve gotten into during their hunting adventures.
Time went by slowly and eventually dusk turned into night. The water was illuminated by lights inside the pool and also a light pole right beside it. Dean continued to monitor his brother closely and although there was no improvement, there was also no worsening. At least not as far as the older Winchester could tell. The gray and blue color of Sam’s skin and his sluggish pulse and breathing still didn’t do much to calm him down either.
A small tear rolled down his cheek. He couldn’t belief this; he was supposed to keep things like this from happening in the first place. Instead he failed Sam and now he was sitting here, trying to keep him alive.
“I’m so sorry, Sammy. I should have listened when you called and gone with you right away!”
“Did you go with him to talk to Professor Nanuq?” Bobby’s voice coming from behind and above him startled him slightly.
“No, but…”
“So you couldn’t have prevented this. Even if you would have been with him, it is more likely you would be in the same shape, then you preventing it from happening. So let it go.”
Turning slightly, Dean faced his two friends, not remembering ever being this happy to see them. The other hunters looked at him and Sam, taking in the appearance of the younger boy, before exchanging a concerned glance.
Finally Caleb broke the silence, “Where is your room? I’ve got to get changed.”
The older Winchester gave him a confused stare.
“Well, I figured you would want to help Bobby take the bitch down, so I brought my trunks. Just don’t want to change right here in front of everyone, might cause a riot if there are any girls around.” He waggled his eye brows at the slightly younger man.
A slight smirk appeared on Dean’s face. It was just like Caleb to try and lighten the moment and he knew that it was in no way meant to minimize the seriousness of the situation. Torn between wanting to stay with Sam and making sure the demon got what it deserved, another look at his brother finally let him come to a decision, “Number sixteen, across from here, key is right here.” He pointed at the side of the pool.
SN SN SN SN SN
After taking the time to hack into the staff records at Angelina College and obtaining an address for Professor Nanuq, Dean and Bobby were on their way to said address. The older hunter was riding shot gun and pulled out two inconspicuous looking sticks from the small bag sitting at his feet.
“What’s that?” Dean threw him a quick glance.
“These are the only weapons that can kill a tuunbaq nanuq.”
The older Winchester couldn’t help a grin, “These? They look more like twigs that will break the moment you put pressure on them.”
“Laugh all you want, but they are from the baobab tree and not just any one. They were cut from a tree that stands directly on the equator.”
“Okay and what makes that so special?” Dean still didn’t understand.
“The polar bear demon is a spirit that came into existence in the Artic Regions. The only thing, which can kill it, is a weapon made from something born on the equator.” Bobby educated him.
“Guess that kinda makes sense. Is there any special ritual to it?”
“Nope, the weapon has to be blessed before it can be used but I’ve already taken care of it.”
Dean pulled the car over to the side of the road and stopped. “Guess we are here.” He turned to face the older man, “Looks like she is home. So how do you want to do this?”
“Get in through the front, strike up a conversation, surprise and kill her.”
“I like it, sounds just like what I would do! Is it really that easy?” The younger man asked doubtfully.
“Dean, do you really have to ask that?” Bobby handed him one of the sticks.
Sliding it into the waistband of his jeans, he said “No, not really!”
Getting out of the car without another word, he walked up the drive, closely followed by the other hunter. Just as he raised his hand to knock, the door opened and he suddenly found himself grabbed by the shoulder and turned around. The next thing he felt was an arm sliding across his neck at the same time as an icy feeling started to rush through his body.
Bobby, who was still several steps away, instantly pulled his weapon out and assumed a fight stance, “Let him go!”
“I don’t think you can make any demands here!” Her voice was just as frigid as her eyes, who now flashed a demonic darkness at the experienced hunter.
Looking at his younger friend, Bobby could tell Dean was in trouble. Her grip wasn’t tight enough to cut his air supply off, yet his skin was already taking on a grayish discoloration and he was shivering so hard, only her arm around his neck was keeping him from falling.
“My powers can do damage so much faster at this close proximity. I can kill him in seconds, if I want to. So you better back off.”
Taking a few steps back, Bobby held his hands up in the air, still holding on to the wooden stick.
“Uh, I see you found the right weapon, too bad it won’t help you now.” The demon sneered, “You better put it down nice and easy or I turn your friend here into an icicle.”
The experienced hunter was reluctant to follow her demand, knowing that she would kill Dean no matter what he did. Locking eyes with the younger man for a moment, he saw the silent message in them, telling him it was okay.
Dean never in his whole life felt as cold as at this moment. The iciness taking over his body, made his limbs stiff and zapped all his energy, yet he was determined not to let this brother down again. Making his hand move up to his waistband proved difficult but after a short moment he accomplished the task and his hand was on the weapon that was going to save Sam. Sliding it out of his jeans, he held it ready. He closed his eyes and concentrated just as his father had taught him to pull out the last of his reserves.
Suddenly collapsing, he caught the nanuq off guard and she loosened her grip. Turning while he fell, his free hand grabbed on to the demon and pulled her down with him. Positioning the pointed end of the stick upwards, he used her downward momentum and pushed the weapon into her chest.
The tuunbaq nanuq let out a gurgling gasp before rolling off the hunter and landing on her back. Clutching the stick with both hands, she sat up and for a second it looked like she was going to pull it out. Without warning her arms dropped and her body fell back. White steam started to rise from it and moved towards the young man, who was still lying on the ground.
Having spent all his reserves on overpowering the demon, Dean was only partially conscious. As the steam crept closer, it started to envelop him, in the process lifting him up. Anxiety swept over him but was almost immediately replaced by a feeling of peace, as warmth pulsed through him, slowly filling the deepest corners of his body and making his sluggish blood flow faster again.
Just as fast as the steam came, it left again, letting the hunter down to the ground in a gentle, almost loving way, before rising up and dissolving into nothingness. Bobby, who until now stood almost in shock over the change in events, came to life and ran toward his friend. Bending down, he put his fingers on the younger man’s neck just to receive a slap.
“I’m fine!” Dean scrambled off the ground, holding on to the still open door when dizziness overcame him.
The older hunter, now also standing, put his hand on his shoulder, “Yeah, you were almost dead of hypothermia just a second ago, that makes you fine now.”
“No really Bobby, I do feel fine. It’s really amazing, it’s just like it never happened. Maybe,” He mused, “killing her reversed the process?”
Checking the other hunter over, even with all his protesting, Bobby was finally satisfied to see Dean’s color had returned to normal, his skin was warm and his heart rate was regular.
“Guess it did reverse the process!” He answered he earlier question.
“We better get that bitch burned before the neighbors call the police on us.” The older Winchester decided, turning toward the corpse just to let out a surprised, “Whoa, what happened?”
A smile appeared on the weathered hunters face, “Oh, I think I forgot to tell you, this is what happens if you kill one of those bitches.” He pointed at the large puddle of water on the driveway that slowly made its way toward the dried out lawn and disappeared into the ground.
“Convenient,” Dean smirked, “Now quit wasting time and let’s get back to Sam.”
He ran towards the car and slid in, starting the engine and barely waiting for the older man to get in before taking off. After driving halfway down the block, he suddenly stopped without warning.
“Do you think her death had the same effect on Sam as it did on me?” His voice trembled with hope.
“I really don’t know, but it could be. Why don’t you drive, I give Caleb a call.”
Grabbing his phone and punching in the number, he waited for the other man to answer, “How is Sam, any change?” He listened for a moment then said, “We will be back there in twenty minutes.”
He closed his cell and turned toward the other man. Seeing the question in his eyes, he hurried to say, “No change so far. I’m afraid, it didn’t reach this far. Caleb is going to get Sam out of the pool and start things to get him warmed up.”
There was no response from Dean, as he concentrated on driving; at this point all he wanted was getting back to his kid brother.
TBC
Last chapter - vonnie836.livejournal.com/1914.html