Prologue;
"And I don't deserve to go to hell!" Alicia sprung to a sitting position, her breathing heavy- that voice- that face- why was he haunting her?
She ran a hand soothingly through her long blond locks before she released a breath she wasn't a wear she was holding in- what was wrong with her? She pushes the sea of blankets from her small, trembling form before she swung two slim legs over the side of the bed. She blindingly reached for the light at her right, switched it on and her bedroom was automatically dim-lighted. Her soft brown eyes searched each crevice, as if to find the man who haunted her dreams waiting for her when she woke- it was the same every night now.
She pushes herself up from the comfort the bed provided and made her way through the house and too the kitchen area of her apartment. She pulls the fridge open, letting her eyes fall closed to the way the chilled air, which was only seconds before captivated within the refrigerator, brushed against her sweat-slicked skin. She didn't understand it, every night; she'd turn her Air Conditioner on higher than the night before and wake up in a very uncomfortable, cold, sweat.
She reached a hand forward and grabbed a hold of one of the water bottles that laid on their sides along the top shelf before closing the door and making her way into the living room and flopping down onto the couch, she couldn't sleep- not now, not when every time she let her eyes roll closed she'd see things she didn't think her mind was capable of imagining. Blood, fire, sweat, skin- she'd feel things too; anger, agony, fear. It was the same thing every night.
If she wanted to go into work the next morning, good as new, she knew she needed to pull herself together and get some sleep- so, it's what she, once again, tried too do. Letting two bare feet sink into the soft carpet that lined her apartment, she journeyed into the bedroom, her breath catching her throat when she noticed what was sitting on the pillow where her head once laid. She dropped the water bottle to the floor- her mind not able to process that she was even holding it while rushing to the bed and snatching the amulet from the pillow. It was Dean's. She'd recognize it anywhere. He never took it off. Her thumb unconsciously traced the small bumps and such that were carved into the necklace, racking her mind for any explanation on what it might have been doing there. – Her dreams? – They were real?
Present Day.
Sam was riffling through Dean's belongings, looking for something- anything that might help release his brother from the hell he'd gotten himself into. Anything that didn't involve making yet another deal. This was what he found, a napkin from the glove compartment with the words "The Boars Nest" written in Dean's handwriting.- Well, that was, until Sam turned it over and a slight smile lit his features, "Finally." A name was written on the opposite side; Alicia.
He recalled his brother muttering her name a few times in the last few weeks while he was caught in dreams.
"Bobby, I got something-" Okay, it wasn't really something big, there was little to no guarantee that the napkin meant anything. But, right now, it felt good to have something- as little as a name and a place might be.
It didn't take the hunter long to walk through the doors of the southern-themed bar, it was definitely Dean's atmosphere. The waitresses were dressed in short Daisy Dukes and cut of BN tops. The hostess approached them and Sam's dark orbs turned toward the small woman when she asked where they preferred to be seated. "I- Is there… Do you know an Alicia?" He questions sheepishly, suddenly, Sam understood what Bobby had told him- he really had no reason to march in here and bombard anyone with questions and concerns about his brother. She might have just been some cutie that caught Dean's eye. He let those thoughts go when the hostess pointed toward a blond waitress' direction.
His eyes narrowed slightly when some drunken biker type lashed out and grabbed the waitress in question, before he could do a thing though, the blond seemed to laugh along before she, in turn, kicked a foot to the man's chest, causing him to hit the floor. He watches a smirk as she pressed her heal to his neck- now he understood what Dean had seen in her- other then the obvious. She was gorgeous. He waits until she finished and started back toward the bar and got in front of her. "Hi." Was all he could think to say, "I'm looking for- are you… Alicia?" He questions.
Alicia jumped slightly when Sam jumped in front of her, blocking her forward progress. Her lips parted slightly to his words, not completely sure how to react- almost dumb-founded. "Uh- yeah… What.. Who are you?" She arches a curious brow.
Sam opened his mouth to answer her- that's when he noticed it, the amulet that was hanging from her neck. She was wearing Dean's necklace. The Christmas present he had given his brother allll those years ago. How was that possible? He was wearing it the night the hellhound ripped him to pieces.- Wasn't he? "I- Where did you get this?" The words passed his lips before he could stop them and he was reaching a hand out to grab a hold of the item.
She took a step back so the amulet fell back against her flesh and she reached a hand up to cover it- unsure of how to act around this mystery man. "I- It's a long… Wait- who are you?" She asks again, this time, with more force.
Sam's mind started to race, what if this was another demon? What if the note was a warning?
But, then she said it.
"Sam?"
His dark eyes shot to her's, he was usually pretty good when it came to reading people. There was just something about this girl that told him she wasn't the enemy- almost, like… an innocents to her. "Yes." He let out a breath, "Look- please, just, tell me… Where did you get this." He waved his hand in the direction of her necklace- Dean's necklace.
"I woke up with it…" She trails off slightly, unsure of how to answer him. Her eyes widened, as if she already knew the answer to the question about to pass over her tongue, "Dean… Sam, where is he?" Everything that had been going on the last few days, the dreams, the flashes- they've been preparing her for this. For what was about to leave Sam's lips.
The hunter swallowed the lump in his throat, "In hell." The words came easily for him, as if they meant nothing- or, at least, that was what he hoped it looked like. He was trying to be more like Dean- he NEEDED to be more like Dean. He was convinced it was the only way he'd survive.
"In hell…" She repeats the words, not completely sure how to take the sudden news. "I don't… I don't understand- how-" Her jaw dropped once more, "I get it." The words were barely a whisper, "What he wanted to tell me- why I've been- I've been there, Sam. Everything time I close my eyes, I see him. And now this?" She reached a hand up to touch the amulet, swallowing hard before releasing a soft breath. "He can't be dead-"
"He is-"
"No, you don't get it, he can't be. I can still feel him- when you're dead, you don't feel."
She looks up at him, "Right?"
"Alicia!" Both the blond and the hunter turned toward the Bar's manager, "I'm not payin' ya to stand around and talk to your boyfriend all day- Get. To. Work."
She clenched her jaw and nodded her head, turning back to Sam. "I wanna help."
He looks down at her, a confused furrow in his brow. "Wha-"
"You're trying to get him back- and I want to help you. He doesn't deserve to be in hell." She glances down, fidgeting with the necklace, "He doesn't deserve what he's goin' through… So, if there's somethin I can do, anythin- A chance that you could use me- I'm gonna do it."
He knew that this was probably the wrong thing to do- the wrong way to go. But, if she was telling the truth, she was the only one who COULD help him.
And to be honest; he just wanted to believe it.
He needed Dean back…. Apparently, they both did.
A Few hours later.
"No- you're not-"
"No- you're not-"
"HEY! – What did I say, if there might be a way, I'm takin' it." Alicia argued, making her way across the small motel room that Sam and Bobby had rented out for the time being. She grabbed a hold of one of the books that laid open across the table, but before she could get a good look at the pages, Sam ripped the book from her grasp.
God, she was almost as stubborn as Dean was. "There's no way I'm gonna sit back and let you get hurt-"
Bobby made his way into the room, rolling his eyes at the sight of the two of them. "Bickering isn't gonna bring Dean back, girls." He grabs the book from Sam's hand and tosses it back onto the table, "And neither is any of this stuff- we're talking about going in and taking someone out of hell- this isn't something we've dealt with before. This isn't something anyone dealt with before."
Alicia leant back against the table, drumming her fingertips across the hard hip bone at her right. "So what do we do?" She questions, tilting her head off to the side.
"Well, that's the million dollar question, honey." Bobby answered, watching Sam drop his eyes to the floor before Bobby's dark gaze returned to Alicia's face. "Tell me about these dreams."
She nods her head, "I don't know- they're dreams. Fresh when I wake up… But, they fade, ya know?" She tries to explain her situation, unconsciously sliding the amulet back and forth on it's chain around her neck. "Fire- I hear him screamin' some times.. Even, feel him." She swallows, letting out a slight breath. "Sometimes, it's not when I'm sleepin'… Sometimes, he's just.. There. They have him bound-" She closes her eyes, wincing, she grabbed her shoulder. "There's something through his shoulder- something, -something- And they play with him." Her eyes moved behind closed lids, "They show him things that aren't real… And, things that are." She looks back at Sam, "On the hunt it's bad, Sam. You get hurt, demons, they play with you. But, there's those times when… When they can't anymore, when you're at the hotel or… With Bobby- and you're just relaxing. He doesn't have that. Death is supposed to bring peace, happiness, all he knows is constant pain," She swallows, as if she was going through it with Dean. "Torture.- They get in his head, yell at him, as you- Bobby, your dad-"
Bobby listens; both hunters and the small blonde had well growing in their dark eyes. "You can feel it right now, can't you? The pain in your shoulder... It's the same as his, you think?"
"I don't know..." She runs her fingers through her blond locks, pushing them out of her face and hooking the loose strands behind her ears. "I mean- I could just be losin' my mind, right?"
Sam shakes his head, "No... It's real, it's good-" He looks over toward Bobby, "Why would she have this connection with him?- I've never even... Dean's never mentioned her, Why... why wouldn't I- or you?"
Alicia glances down to her hands before looping her thumbs into the belt loops of her jean shorts, a soft breath escaping her lips, as if she was trying to recover from the world she'd just purposely trapped herself in. All she could see was Dean, all she could feel was the pain he was obviously in.
Bobby was watching the blonde closely, maybe to see if there was any flaws to her proformance, but... The more he watched her, the more he could see it- see that she was in pain. "I don't know- unless... You said you knew Dean... Were you two... Physical?" He knew Dean, and how the man was when it came to women.
She automatically shook her head, "No. We were just friends." She promised both Hunters honestly, biting the inside of her bottom lip before she pushes herself forward toward the boys. "Why?- Why would that matter?"
"It's a connection." Both Sam and Bobby confirmed.
Only Sam's eyes widened and his gaze locked on Alicia's small figure. "Did he love you?"
To be Continued...
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