Yellowstone National Park truly was a beautiful place. Tall trees, crystal clear creeks and pretty antique wells. Sam would have been thrilled to be in such a nature filled place had they not been on a job. Unfortunately they were, so he had to focus.
About three days ago, there were police reports of hikers being killed in the middle of the park. Cause of death was blood loss from a laceration in the jugular vein. As soon as the Winchesters heard this, they were thinking the same thing. Vampire.
Now the two brothers, Sam and Dean, were on an hour long drive to the center of Yellowstone where the killing took place. Armed with machetes, Dean and Sam travelled the distance mostly in silence. They would joke and make the occasional comment but there were both quiet most of the time, both for different reasons. Dean was too busy getting psyched for the upcoming battle against the vamps. Sam was enjoying the fresh air and change of scenery.
The hour went by quickly and soon the men had the Impala parked in a parking lot and walked ten minutes to the site of the murdered victims. It was a small clearing surrounded by large deciduous trees. In the center was an old brick well.
"Alright, we're here," Dean says unnecessarily, "And so we wait?"
"And so we wait," repeated Sam. He shifted uneasily, "I'm getting a bad feeling about this." Dean stared at him for a moment.
"You're kidding me, right?" he asked incredulously, "We've hunted like a million vampires! We could do it in our sleep!"
"You think I don't know that?" he retorted, "But something's wrong this time!" Sam insisted. Dean rolled his eyes at his little brother.
"Look, everything will be fine. We're gonna gank this thing like we do every-" the hunter was cut off when a vampire came flying out of nowhere and tackled him.
Dean was knocked off his feet and plowed into the ground. The vamp was on top of him, fangs out and claws slashing at his chest. He felt the monster's razor sharp nails pierce his flesh and rake downward. Dean moaned in pain and was surprised when the burden on his abdomen suddenly disappeared.
Thinking fast, Sam had grabbed the back of the vampire's denim jacket and hauled the load off of his older brother.
"You okay?" Sam shouted to Dean.
"Peachy," the elder Winchester called back.
Then things took a turn for the worst. Sam saw Dean's eyes widen considerably, and then the oldest brother launched himself to his feet and, with all his might, shoved Sam as far as he could. Sam looked up just in time to see the vampire barrel into Dean, sending him over the brick wall and down the well. There was a moment of silence, then a distant splash as he hit the water below.
The monster's cry of triumph was drowned out by Sam's bellow of pure rage. He pulled out his machete and started slashing at the beast. It took the hunter no longer than fifteen second to decapitate his opponent. Sam dropped the knife and bolted to the well.
"Dean!" he could see nothing but darkness at the bottom of the hole, "DEAN!" he called again louder. He grabbed his flashlight out of his pocket, switched it on, and shined the beam of light down.
His brother was slumped in a pool of water about a foot deep. He was propped up against the wall and his head was out of the liquid so Sam didn't have to worry about him drowning. Half of his face was colored red with blood.
"Dean! Can you hear me?" there was no answer. His brother didn't even stir. Sam looked closer and he could see the rise and fall of Dean's chest as he breathed. But it was shallow and erratic, as if each attempt to pull oxygen into his lungs was a struggle.
Sam's first instinct was to dive head first after his brother but, of course, he forced himself to pause and think rationally. He knew for a fact there was some rope in the trunk of the Impala but he didn't want to leave his brother alone at the bottom of a well.
Realizing he had no choice Sam turned on his heel and ran toward the Chevy. He remembered the ten minutes it had taken to walk to the clearing and figured we could make the distance in half the time. Images of his unconscious, bloody brother flashed behind his eyes and he poured on the speed.
Sam skidded to a halt in front of the trunk of the car. He opened the door, grabbed the rope and speed back to the well. Once he arrived, the first thing he noticed was two people peering down into hole that contained his brother. They were both sporting giant backpacks which made Sam suspect they were hikers. The tall one was obviously male and resembled a quarterback with his large muscles and blond hair. The woman standing next to him was moderate sized, about 5'4, and had red hair but no freckles which made him guess it was dyed. She obviously was not as muscular as the man but she still looked strong. They both looked distressed and worried so Sam knew they were no threat. When he ran up the hikers jumped a little.
"Oh please! You have to help!" the woman cried, "There's a man down there! Call 911!"
"Yes I know. He's my brother," he said in a surprisingly calm voice, "I need your help getting him out."
"Anything," the man said immediately, "Tell us what to do."
"Here's the plan: I need you two to lower me down, I'll tie the rope around Dean and you pull him up, then you throw the rope back down and I'll climb back up. Got it?" Sam explained quickly.
"Got it," the man replied.
"Is Dean your brother?" the woman asked softly.
"Yes," he replied, "And my name is Sam."
"I'm Derrick," the man introduced himself, "And this is my wife Caroline." He gestured toward the woman.
He nodded to them then got to work fixing the rope. It was about twenty five feet long and the well was only about twelve to fifteen feet deep so they had more than enough. He made the loop big enough so it could be slipped under Dean's arms and tied it off. He tied the other end of the rope around a tree closest to the well. He walked quickly back to the well stepped into the rope loop and brought it up around his thighs the sat just at the edge of the brick wall.
"Ready?" he asked Derrick and Caroline. They both grabbed the rope and gripped it tightly with both hands.
"Ready!" Derrick confirmed, and Caroline nodded as well. Sam eased himself over the edge and the two hikers started lowering him down. The knot seemed to be holding up well and the rope was strong enough to bear his weight. The deeper he went the darker it got. The black felt like it was suffocating him, but he wouldn't give up. Hold on Dean, Sam thought to himself, I'm coming to get you out of here.
Then he felt his feet touch the well water. The searing cold liquid was such a shock against his bare skin it almost made him cry out. He wanted to tell Derrick and Caroline to reel him back up but then he thought of Dean and how long he had been suffering in this place and he sobered up immediately.
He waited for the rope to slacken enough so he slip it off of himself then called up to his acquaintances to stop. He waved his hands around and tried to find Dean. His arms softly struck something soft and solid and immediately recognized the feel of his brother's favorite leather jacket. He ran his hands along his brother, trying to find his head in the darkness. Once he did, he slipped the rope over his head and under his arms.
He tugged the rope, signaling the couple to start pulling his brother up. Sam watched as Dean slowly rose into the air, twisting almost elegantly above him. For a petrifying moment, Sam feared his brother would slip from the rope and come crashing back down into the well but he stayed put and continued to rise up to mouth of the hole.
Derrick and Caroline grabbed Dean's shirt and, as gently as they could, hauled him over the wall and laid him on the grassy ground. They slipped the rope off the elder Winchester brother and once again cast it back down into the well. Sam grabbed the rope and started climbing back up. The hikers were shocked at the fact that they didn't need to pull him up. What they didn't know was that, as a child, Sam's father had forced him and Dean to go through a series of courses and exercises to keep them strong to hunt he monsters that's plagued Earth.
Once Sam reached the mouth of the well, Derrick helped him climb over. Sam looked over and saw Caroline cradling his brother's head in her lap, trying to offer as much warmth and comfort as she could.
"Is he alive?" Sam panted, he was afraid of what the answer might be.
"He's breathing but only just," Caroline replied. Her response made Sam both breathe out a sigh of relief and made his insides freeze with icy terror. He didn't know what he would do if his brother died. He didn't want to think about it either.