AN: This was written for Round Four of the SFTCOLARS Secret Santa Summer Fic Exchange for OubletShadowStalker. Basically this is an AU of Salvation set just after Sam has his vision. I would like to apologise for the extreme lateness of this, I've had the week from hell but it's no excuse. Sorry for it being late and enjoy. This is chapter one so more to come!
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Wet.
He could feel water on his face.
Dripping.
Drip
His eyelids felt like lead as he struggled to open them. They fluttered feebly before opening.
He found himself staring up at the sky, a blanket of grey and thunderous angry clouds.
Why was he outside?
Why couldn't he breathe?
He tried to sit up but let out a strangled cry as pain lanced through his chest. Each shuddering breath sent agony through him.
His head felt foggy, he couldn't think straight
His mouth tasted like copper
How long had he been lying here?
His head was pounding, his whole chest was searing with pain, and he was soaked. He inclined his head slightly, trying to see his surroundings.
He was lying in the small ditch by the roadside, surrounded by icy, muddy rainwater.
Taking short, struggling breaths he began to move his arm slightly. He gingerly touched the side of his head and drew his hand away with a hiss. His fingertips were covered in blood.
Shit.
That explained the pounding headache.
He tried to gather his thoughts, think about this rationally but it was hard when his brain felt like it had been replaced with cotton wool.
Turning his head again he spotted his cell phone lying on the side of the road. He could probably reach it from here.
He swallowed hard as he shivered violently, pain shooting through his body. He was so cold.
He tried to move his right arm to reach across for the phone but the slightest movement sent fire lancing down his arm causing his eyes to water and a low moan to escape his lips.
His fingertips had brushed the phone.
He lay there struggling to draw a complete breath, the cold eating at his bones.
He was well and truly fucked.
He couldn't hold up the weight of his eyelids any longer, drowsiness washing over him as his head swam. He let his eyelids droop shut before welcoming the familiar darkness.
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Dean ran a hand through his hair and let out a long sigh as he paced the small confines of the dimly lit motel room. Where the hell was Sam? It'd had been over an hour since had been due back at the motel and he wasn't answering his phone.
For a start Sam was never late and secondly he always answered his phone, he was irritatingly anal about it. He'd always pick his phone up after no more than two rings. How could his dad be sitting there so calmly. Flicking through his journal and reading the information they'd gathered as if nothing had happened, as if Sam hadn't been AWOL for over an hour.
He began pacing again, the only sound filling the tense room was the whisper of his jeans and his footfalls as he resisted the urge to call his brother's phone again even though he'd tried a few seconds ago. He heard an irritated sigh from the corner.
"Dean, could you just stay still for a second?" His father snapped, shutting his journal and scrubbing a hand over his face. Dean scowled and collapsed down onto the bed, grimacing at the lumpy mattress.
"Look, maybe his phone is on silent and he can't hear it or he left it somewhere and he's on his way back now?" John offered wearily, knowing that is was unlikely. He just didn't want to face the truth. It was too much of coincidence, the demon appearing again and now Sam being gone…
"Dad you don't know what he's like, he wouldn't do that. He's completely anal about his cell phone and it's been an hour!" Dean snapped back before letting out a long sigh and setting his head down in his hands.
"We have to get out there and look for him, we've waited here for him to turn up and he hasn't. There's obviously something wrong." Dean said. He knew Sam, better than anyone and he knew his brother was rarely if not never late and if he was he'd call. Something had happened, he could feel it.
"What about the hunt Dean? The demon?" John said rising from his chair and Dean stood up to meet him.
"Screw the hunt Dad! This is your son we're talking about and for all we know the demon could have him! We have to go out and look for him. I'm not letting you put us in second place." Dean found himself yelling and clenched his fists, breathing heavily to calm himself down. He met John's eyes and found them stoic but ambiguous. He never could tell exactly what he was thinking.
"You're right…I'll go look at the library, the hospital. You take the Impala. Keep trying his phone." John said and Dean nodded, grabbing the keys and trying to keep the tremble from his hands.
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Dean eased the Impala around the corner and cruised along the street, looking around for any sign of his brother. It was drizzling and the sky was an ominous grey as he tapped on the steering wheel impatiently.
If it turned out Sam had just lost track of time he was going to kill him, of course without letting him know he was worried or anything.
He dialed Sam's number in again and waited, the continuous ringing taunting him as he stopped the car, shutting off the engine and letting out a long sigh of frustration. As the radio cut out with the engine he listened as the phone continued to ring when a tinny sound could be heard. Frowning Dean looked back down at the phone that was still ringing and strained his ears.
Ringing, it was ringing. That was Sam's ring tone he was sure of it.
His heart was hammering against his chest as he stepped out of the car urging every sound to stop so he could hear the phone. His mouth felt dry and blood was rushing in his ears. As he walked slowly forward the sound got clearer, sharper. The road was empty.
What the hell?
As the road curved slowly around he heard it. From the left.
His eyes rested on a shallow ditch filled with mud and rainwater, long blades of grass, drops of rain clinging to them and sparkling in the struggling sunlight. Then he saw it. A shoe, a foot, a leg, a body, a face. Sam.
AN I know it's extremely short but more to come, just needed to set the scene.