(no subject)
After dropping Ben off at school on Monday morning, Dean stopped by the flower shop to order a bouquet of yellow roses and purple freesias, Lisa’s favorites, for her birthday on Thursday. Although there was still plenty of time, he knew he tended to get busy during the week and forget and he really wanted the flowers delivered to her at work this time. He also made reservation at her favorite restaurant, a little Italian place that served the best Eggplant Parmesan, at least that’s what Lisa said. He personally referred the Lasagna and although he was more of a pie man, their Tiramisu was something he usually had seconds of.
“I bet if Sam could see me ordering flowers and making dinner reservation, he would make me drink holy water or worse.” He smiled at the thought, but turned serious, when almost automatically his thoughts went to the time when his brother had been possessed by Demon Meg. The scary thing was that Meg had actually been able to convince Dean that it had been all Sam. Although it had been difficult for him to fathom that his brother had truly killed Steve Waddell, he had never thought of possession. His bet had been on a shape shifter or something like it.
They certainly had their share of bad luck, but somehow it always seemed like Sam was the one that attracted supernatural entities, like a magnet attracted iron. Yet in all of that his brother never seemed to lose his determination to make things right and to not look at things as set in stone. It was amazing, how Sam could give even a vampire the benefit of a doubt or convince Dean that not every spirit was malevolent.
Things started to change after Sam died and came back, though. Wow, this very sentence was one he would never let anyone hear or they would put him in a rubber cell. But it was a moment he would never forget. Seeing the kid get stabbed in the back and collapsing into his arms, feeling the live drain out of him as he took a last, barely noticeable breath, was still more than he could bear thinking about. Yet given the choice, he would make the deal, he made then, again no matter what the consequences would be. But after that Sam became different, more driven.
The yellow eyed bastard had asked him, if he was sure it was all Sam that came back and for a while he actually had doubts, but that hadn’t been it. The true problem had been that his brother couldn’t stand the thought of him going to hell for him and not just that, he had also felt responsible for it, more so than Dean had realized at the time. He had been eaten up by the task to find an out of the deal. That’s what had led him to trust a demon, who had promised she knew a way. It had been a lie, she had even admitted it to Dean, but Sam had needed that lie to go on.
And there had been one specific incident that for the first time had made the older Winchester doubt that his brother would make it without him. It had been early January and they had been on a hunt in Vermont.
SN SN SN SN SN
“So, tell me again, what is this thing called?” Dean looked at his brother with a grin.
“Maski-mon-gwe-zo-os” The taller man replied, undisturbed by the expression on the other’s face.
There was a poorly suppressed laugh, before the older hunter pulled himself together, “Only your freakishly large brain would allow you to pronounce such a mouthful.” He teased.
“Actually it’s not that hard, but you are right, your pea brain wouldn’t be able to deal with anything more complicated than ‘another beer’ in any language.” Sam returned the tease.
“Yeah well, my brain knows what’s important.” Dean said, “But seriously explain one more time what kind of creature this is.”
They came out here in the middle of winter, because this was a popular area for skiing and at least five people had been killed over the last two weeks. Two were still missing, but mostly likely also dead. It was unclear what exactly killed them, but authority believed that it was some kind of poison that as of yet was unidentified. The strange thing was that all of the victims were either adult males or children under the age of twelve. The two hunters tried to get a look at the bodies and autopsy reports, yet for once even their expertise hadn’t been able to get either. They would have stood there with nothing, except one of the lab girls took a liking to Sam and let the thing with the suspected poison slip.
Right now the area, where the killings happened was still sealed off to the public, yet both hunters knew that is was probably only a matter of time until the killer either moved on to another area or people started to ignore the restrictions and came here anyway.
Dean was the one, who found the hunt and although initially skeptical, if this was really their kind of thing, Sam kept digging and in the end came up with a little source for the killings. Knowing that this indeed was an unusual creature, he didn’t mind explaining it once again to his brother.
“In Abenaki mythology the maski-mon-gwe-zo-os was described as a toad creature. It appears either as a partridge or a woman and seduces men and children before it kills them.”
“Does it say how it kills them?” The other hunter wondered.
“No, there is very little known about it, so it could be some kind of poison.”
“So the next question is, how do we kill it and is there an antidote to the poison?”
“Okay, so those are actually two questions.” Sam stated.
“Details…” Dean smirked.
“Anyway, I couldn’t find anything in the research on how to kill it, so I think we should cover all the bases. I loaded your weapon with consecrated iron rounds and mine with silver. I dipped all of them into holy water. And just in case it’s demonic, I memorized an exorcism for unusual demons and I got supplies for an Abenaki banishing ritual in my back pack.”
“Yep, sounds like geek brain thought off everything.” Dean grinned, but there was fond admiration on his face, “But what about the poison?”
There was a small pause, before Sam answered. “Guess we just have to make sure it doesn’t get us. As I said, there is nothing I could find and whatever the poison, they haven’t even identified it yet. Heck, they don’t even know how long it takes to act, as no one witnessed the attacks. The two children that were killed were with their father, who also didn’t make it. The others were in a group of men and two of them are still missing.”
For a while they moved along in the snow without talking. Suddenly Dean stopped and looked at his brother, “We have to establish some rules, before we find this thing. So listen, I will be in front and make sure that if it should get one of us, it will not be you!”
The older brother left no doubt that he was serious about his words and almost instantly anger erupted from the other man.
“Now you wait a moment here, why would you sacrifice yourself?”
“Because I’m already dead Sam, that’s why! I have four more months left and then I’m gone anyway. There is no way I will risk your life.”
“Exactly, you have four more months; during which we can find a way out of this deal.” Sam protested.
Dean’s initial response was going to be, ‘and if you get me out, you are the one that will die’, but he bit his tongue, knowing this argument wouldn’t cut it with his brother right now. Instead he said, “And if you die now, who is going to get me out of the deal and why would I even want to get out of it then?”
The younger hunter opened his mouth, but closed it again, knowing there wasn’t anything he could argue against his brother’s words. Still, he was determined, to do whatever it would take to keep Dean safe.
For another ten minutes they walked through the hardened snow, until they reached a wooded area. For a moment both looked at each other, trying to determine, if they should enter or rather walk along it. Finally they decided it would be safer to stay at the edge, as the trees made for an excellent hiding spot and there wasn’t very much room in between to keep their distance from any possible attacker.
“I just hope this thing decides to show itself soon. If we don’t head back within the next two hours, we might have to stay out here over night and I prefer a warm, soft bed to a tent in the snow any day.” Dean stated, continuing on slightly in front of his brother.
“From the research I gathered that the attacks had to have taken place before or around this time, as both groups were expected back at a certain time before dark. I just kind of estimated the time it would have taken them to get back from where they were found. I certainly could be wrong, especially, if the creature carried them off a ways. But I wouldn’t know why it would have?” Sam explained.
“Makes sense, but…” Dean’s voice trailed off, when he noticed movement within the tree line, “Over there…” He whispered, raising his weapon.
Sam followed suit, just as a woman in a coat made from fur walked towards them. She was Native American and her long black hair glistened in the sunlight. The younger man estimated her age at around twenty and she moved with the grace of a large cat.
“Stop right there!” The older Winchester demanded, keeping his gun trained on her.
Her voice was soft and melodic sounding, when she started to speak in a language that both men suspected was Abenaki. Ignoring the warning, she stepped closer, her eyes locked with Dean’s and her voice continuing to speak to him. Like in a trance the older brother dropped his weapon and stood completely unmoving as she approached him.
Almost instinctively Sam fired and watched in awe, as she flicked the silver bullet away, like it was a pesky insect. As she moved into his still stunned looking brother’s personal space, the younger man could see her flicking her strangely shaped tongue and he suddenly knew without the shadow of a doubt, how she killed her victims. Throwing himself at the other man, he pushed him to the side, at the same time as he felt a sharp stinging slap to his face.
Continuing his decent and landing on top of Dean, his skin began to burn in an explosion of fire that wasn’t just limited to his face, but moved from there down into the rest of his body within a split second. Pain so intense, he never felt anything like it before, engulfed him and unable to control himself, loud moans started to escape his throat.
Dean had no idea what just happened. At one moment he warned the woman/creature not to come closer and the next he was lying on the ground, pained moans coming from his brother, who was writhing in the snow beside him. Although his Sam radar wanted to check on the younger man without any delay, for once he pushed it away and followed his hunter instincts.
Rolling around and reaching for his weapon in one smooth motion, he pulled the trigger as the woman moved at him. The shot rang out, hitting her in the chest. As she flew backwards, Dean was already on his feet, cocking the gun again. What he saw next told him that his aim had been true and the consecrated iron rounds were effective. Before his eyes the beautiful one woman changed into an ugly giant toad, whose grayish-green skin was scattered with large warts. Yellowish liquid, Dean guessed it was blood, bubbled from the chest wound and a vomit inducing odor emanated from the horrid creature. Although still alive, it was clear death wasn’t far off and so Dean dropped his gun without wasting another second.
Falling to his knees beside his brother, he carefully lifted Sam and supported his upper body with his arm. The moans from earlier had changed into rasping gasps, as the younger man desperately tried to pull in air, his features strained with the effort. Although both of them were wearing thick clothing, Dean could feel waves of heat radiating of Sam’s body.
“Sammy, no…” The older hunter pushed out, as he watched blisters appear on the other man’s face.
Within seconds the burn marks covered almost every area of his face, including his eyes. Taking off the thin leather gloves Sam was wearing, Dean realized that the blistering wasn’t limited to the face, but also appeared on his hands and probably all over the rest of his body. A terrible thought crossed his mind and using his free hand he pulled out the flashlight from his coat pocket and shone the beam into his brother’s mouth.
“No, no, no…” He gasped, seeing the burns inside Sam’s mouth and down his throat.
There was nothing he could do, except hold on and try to convey his presence to the younger man, while he was still alive.
“I’m here Sammy, I’m with you all the way, I won’t let you go.” He promised, tears flowing freely from his eyes, as cradled his dying brother close to his heart.
As the rasping breaths changed into an ineffective gurgling, he felt Sam’s hand move upwards. Grabbing the appendage as carefully as possible, as to not inflict further pain, Dean felt the swollen fingers curl around his and apply very minute pressure as a sign that his brother understood. But as the hand relaxed and Sam’s body gave up its struggle for air, he knew that it was so much more. It was a final goodbye and a gesture that told him Sam wasn’t sorry that he gave his life for Dean’s. And as the tall body went limp in his arms, the older brother pulled him even closer, no longer having to be afraid of hurting the other, but unwilling to let go.
Unnoticed by Dean, clouds of smoke began to radiate off the vile creature’s body, just as he assured Sam that he was with him. An invisible flame burned the corpse until it disappeared into nothing. And when the last cloud of smoke dissolved, a shudder went through the lifeless body of the younger hunter.
For a moment Dean thought he imagined the movement, yet when it happened again only a few seconds later, he sat up straighter, not enough to let go of his brother, but enough to see the disfigured features of what used to be Sam’s handsome face. Holding his breath, he watched the blisters shrink and slowly disappear. Still astonished by the development, he wasn’t prepared for the sudden jerk and even less when Sam’s upper body shot up and his brother took in several panting breaths.
Unable to yet comprehend the events unfolding in front of him, Dean stared at Sam and only a vicious cough shaking the younger man without warning put him back into action. Jumping forward, he held on to his brother’s shoulders, steadying him, until the attack subsided.
It was several minutes, before confused hazel orbs searched for and found his green ones, “What happened?”
“Crap, I wish I knew!”
For the first time Dean looked at the spot where the creature had fallen. All that was left now was a black spot void of any snow or grass, speaking of the immense heat the chemical reaction, which made the body disappear, released. Looking back at his brother, he suddenly felt anger bubble up in him.
“Damn it Sam, you almost died!” He screamed, shaking the other, before pushing him back to the ground, “Don’t you dare ever pull a stunt like this again. I told you to stay back.”
At first there was no response from Sam, the younger man continued to lie in the snow wordlessly. Very slowly the expression on his face changed into one of anguish and a single tear made its way down his cheek, as he pushed himself back up.
“I can’t Dean, I can’t lose you! Not now, not ever, don’t you get it? It goes both ways.”
He stood up and swayed for a second, but pushed his brother’s hands away, as the other man attempted to steady him. Walking away with drooping shoulders and hanging head, he was a picture of misery.
“Sam…”
Surprised by the gentleness of Dean’s voice, the younger man turned, but still didn’t look up.
“Look Sammy, I understand how you feel.”
“Do you? Do you really understand?” Sam straightened, “Because from my point of view it seems like you can see only your fear of losing me, but can’t get that I feel the same way about you!”
The older man rubbed his hand over his face, before he answered, “You’re right, I couldn’t see your side, but now I do. That doesn’t mean I can stand the thought of losing you, but I promise I won’t stand in your way of trying to get me out of the deal any longer. Just don’t ask me to help that would be an automatic death sentence for you.”
He locked eyes with Sam and although the pain remained, there was also hope in them, as the younger hunter responded.
“Fair enough, I can live with that, at least for now. And I promise, I’ll find a way!” There was even something like a smile on his face.
“Good, now let’s get out of here, before it gets dark and we’ll turn into icicles!”
For a moment the memory of the terror he felt then shook the firstborn Winchester to the core. Losing Sam had always been his greatest fear, but that was before he never had a brother.
TBC
Part 4