CARRY ON WAYWARD ROAD
SPIDERS IN THE WEB
CHAPTER 1
Sam had overslept. He wasn't sure why but he had a rough, emotional night. Oh yeah, he did remember why. His brother. He was going to make Sam leave. He knew he said some hateful things to him, in a way, he didn't mean them, but in a way, he did.
It was things that had been bubbling inside of him for so long, he had to let it out, he couldn't carry it around anymore. He knew he had to apologize. He woke up, showered, changed, prepared himself for the day before heading downstairs. He wasn't wanting breakfast anyhow. As he walked downstairs, he noticed Nancy was sitting on the couch, Beth on the chair, but Dean wasn't there.
He paused, that feeling in his gut told him something wasn't right. He looked around the room. The blue couch Dean had been sleeping on for so many nights, the blanket folded neatly on the end cushion, his pillow, laying on top of it. Nancy sitting beside it with her head lowered.
In the flowered reclining chair sitting beside the couch, Beth sat, looking equally as sad, but with a hint of confusion added. The tv that hung above the fireplace mantle, remained turned off. The room was quiet. The lamp on the table beside the couch, the one that Dean used for his only light for many nights, turned off as well.
The glass that normally sat beside the lamp, the one containing the constant fluid they had to once force into his brother, gone. The table sat empty, with only the lamp that sat on the handmade doily. The table on the other end of the couch, equally matching. He could see through the kitchen doorway, the table they had so many meals at, sat empty. No one in the chairs. The bathroom door that was downstairs, cracked opened.
As Sam finished walking down the steps, Nancy looked up at him, with saddened eyes.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Have you heard from your brother?" Nancy asked.
Now, Sam's confusion matched Beth's. "What? Should I have? Isn't he here?" Sam questioned.
"NO!" Beth was clearly upset, "he's not here! He's gone! So is all his stuff, and his car. Sam, where did he go?"
Sam was shocked to hear what Beth had just said. "I… I don't know" Sam replied, turning to look at Nancy. He had eyes full of sorrow and guilt, mixed with fear. Fear that he made his brother leave.
"Beth, why don't you leave me and Sam to talk alone for a few?" Nancy requested.
As Beth left the room, "Sit down, Sam" Nancy said.
"Where did he go?" Sam had sat down in the chair, "Did he say?"
"He didn't say anything, didn't even leave a note, he was gone when I woke up." Nancy informed him.
Of course, Sam thought, of course he would just run off like that. He couldn't say he expected any different.
"Sam, you said some pretty nasty stuff to him last night" Nancy reminded him.
"Yeah, I know, but, I meant every word of it. I don't want to keep living the life Dad forced on us. I never wanted that life, Dean knew that. I was away. I had gone to college, Dean drug me back into it." Sam was still upset. He wasn't apologizing for what he said.
Nancy slowly shook her head, "you boys have a lot of crap you gotta work through, don't you?" She stood from the couch and walked away.
Dean had drove all night. It had started raining, just a gentle rain. Water drops falling on his windshield, the way he wished the water in his eyes could fall. He hated himself. He's always had a deep-rooted hate for the person he was, but this was even deeper, now.
He wasn't sure what to do, he always had a fear of being alone, now that fear has become a reality. His brother told him to leave, that's what he wanted. He wasn't sure where he was going. He was just driving. The empty road, both behind and in front of him. The moon light had been shining down through the rain clouds, his head lights and what little moon there was, his only line of sight.
The passenger seat sat empty, the tunes turned off, the windshield wipers the only sound filling Dean's ears. The sun began to rise, the rain drops still falling. It didn't stop Dean from aimlessly driving. He was heading anywhere but where he had come from. He continued to drive while the sun raised higher and higher into the sky.
He had stopped at some small-town filling station to fuel his car. He didn't have any interest in getting anything to eat for himself, he wasn't thirsty either, fuel was all he needed, then he was on his way back down the lonely road. He drove as the sun lowered in the sky, until the moon light lit his way once again. He decided he needed to stop and get a room, he was feeling the lack of sleep affecting his ability to drive.
"I need a room with 2 queen… uh…one double bed, please."
He had forgotten, for a moment, that he was alone. He went into his room, alone, dropping his bag on the floor beside the only bed in the room. He left the tv off, didn't have any interest in watching anything. He washed his face in the sink, looking at himself in the mirror.
He was exhausted, he questioned why he even left their home to begin with. He could deal with Sam's hurtful words. He had dealt with their dad's for so many years. But, maybe he was right. Dean had removed his boots and laid on his back on the bed. He started running through his head the words his brother had said to him.
He asked him if he enjoyed it. He had asked him that before. His dad had asked him. The men, the night Sam left, had asked him. Why does everyone keep asking him that? Was there a part of him that made people think he did? He didn't. he never did. Just because he doesn't cry over it doesn't mean he enjoys it.
"Do you enjoy it, boy? Do you want more? This is what you like isn't it?"
The images flashing through his mind. Images of fists, coming down on him. He could feel the bed under him give with each punch. His stomach, worn out, covered in bruises, the pain radiating through his body. A punch to his face, causing blood to run from his nose. Both his eyes, black and blue. His cheek was burning, he was sure it was split open too. His wrists burned from the ropes that held them in place, rubbing them raw, leaving blood in place of the skin.
His shirt had been ripped off, turned into shreds, his feet bare, his pants were off but he was still wearing his boxers. His hands bound together in front of him, but they did little good to protect him. The fists that were hitting him, grabbed his arm, pulling both up at the same time due to the ropes that held them together. Pain radiated through one of his arms.
He wasn't sure what had just happened, but it felt like his arm was broken. He tried to look, tried to see who was hurting him, but his eyes were too swollen, or perhaps his vision was just too blurry. He could see the fists, the muscles and strength of the man, but not his face.
"You're nothing but a girl, a sorry ass, pitiful girl, so, lets treat you like one, what do you say?"
He ripped off Dean's boxers and spread his legs, like a girl, he started to enjoy himself.
"How does that feel? You like it? Maybe we should go buy you a dress when we're done?" the man said.
As the man started enjoying himself more and more the pain radiating through Dean's body got stronger and stronger. Stronger than he ever remembered it being. Until, he couldn't take it anymore. The pain had overwhelmed every inch of his body.
Dean jumped awake.
"SAM!"
His body covered in sweat. He was still fully clothed, in the motel room he had gotten. He looked around, realizing, remembering he was alone. Sam wasn't there to help him. It took him a moment, but he realized it was just a dream. A dream of many things, different moments in his life, all at the same time.
He realized, in his dream, he was only a teenager, maybe younger? Somewhere between 11 and 14 years old. He shook it off, put his boots back on, and set out to find a local bar or liquor store. He found a bar. Perfect for him. It was full of beautiful women and booze, exactly what Dean needed.
He woke in the morning, sneaking out of some woman's room, back to his room to pack his belongings and hit the road. He didn't remember the night. Didn't want to remember the night. Before leaving the motel, he stopped by the lobby, using their computer to do some research. Once he was finished, he set on his way, hitting the road again. This time he had a plan, a purpose, he was heading to Boston, Ohio. Where there appeared to be several people with strange occurrences.
Sam expected his brother to return, but didn't feel bad when he didn't. He knew he'd be back eventually. He was enjoying the break he was getting. He was, for once, the man of the house. He helped Nancy with things that needed to be fixed in the home. He helped her take care of the yard work, and finished the nursery for Beth. She was getting closer and closer to her due date. He enjoyed taking care of them. He enjoyed feeling like a man and not the child Dean saw him as.
"Hey, Sam do you think you could take Beth to the doctor today? I've got some errands to run and it would be a great help if you could do that for me." Nancy asked.
"Yeah, sure, I'd be happy to" Sam replied.
When it was time, he took Beth to her appointment. She wanted him to go back with her, she said the wait gets long and she gets bored. So, he agreed. They sat and talked until the doctor came into the room. Sam felt a little uncomfortable when the doctor checked her, that was a little too intimate for his comfort. Then the doctor announced she wanted to do an ultrasound.
She brought in the machine and rubbed jelly on her stomach. Once she started the ultrasound, the baby's picture showed up on the screen. This was the first time Sam had ever seen anything like this. He was seeing her baby, the baby he saved, live and in person. Black and white, right there on the screen. His little body moving around. He could see each kick, each turn of his head. Beth and the doctor both noticed Sam's amazement. He was mystified. Everything he had seen in his life, the good and the bad, nothing compared to this moment. He was speechless, this moment had taken his breath away.
"Well," the doctor spoke, breaking Sam's mesmerized glare, "It looks like we are going to have us a little boy very soon!" she announced.
"Yeah, in about a month" Beth replied.
"No, sooner, Beth, you are ready to have this baby. I think he's going to come early. I wouldn't be surprised if he comes this week. Have you been having any contractions?"
What the doctor said surprised the both of them.
"No, I haven't." Beth announced.
"Don't be surprised if they start." the doctor informed her.
Beth was so excited, Sam couldn't help but be excited too. She talked the whole way home, talked about baby names, finishing the nursery, she couldn't wait to tell her mom. Beth was so bubbly.
Sam loved that about her. He was used to darkness and anger, this was so much different, so much better. When they got back to the house, Beth was jumping up and down with excitement, telling her mom everything the doctor had said. Sam stood against the wall, smiling. He was just as excited, still amazed by the images he saw of the little one.
Sam loved his new life, he had embraced every moment of it. He had worked hard over the next few days to finish the nursery, getting the crib put together and everything ready for the newest addition. He was living a normal life, with a normal family, as a normal person.
Dean, continued to hunt. He had found himself in some dangerous situations, no one to watch his back, no one to help protect him. He was on a hunt for a werewolf, it got the best of him, leaving deep gashes down his arm and torso. He retrieved back to the room he had rented, pouring his booze on the gashes before swallowing down half the bottle.
He retrieved the needle and thread, beginning to stitch himself up. Damn, he missed his brother, he hated being alone. His biggest fear wasn't being killed on a hunt, it was being killed on a hunt while he was alone. He was afraid no one would know, he would end up being some rotted corpse with an evil spirit. He also got lonely.
He's always had someone to take care of, now, it was only him. But, he wasn't going to let that stop him from doing what his father trained him to do. He was a hunter, and will always be a hunter. Nothing would change that. Nothing would make him be anything but the person he was trained to be.
He had found a vengeful spirit to hunt. He was itching for something mean and nasty. He had a lot of built up emotions he was needing to let out. He didn't expect the spirit to be so nasty, to have the abilities it had. He had cornered it in an abandoned house, on the top floor, in the back, corner room. The spirit threw Dean against the wall, holding him, by the throat, lifting his feet off the ground. It had blocked every chance of inhaling air that Dean had.
His world was going black, his body unable to fight back, he was going limp, physically and mentally. Dean had thought he was finished, he thought this was the end, until the spirit threw him against the wall across the room.
It didn't have to touch him. It was able to throw him around with the flick of a hand. Constantly, over and over the spirit tossed him around like a rag doll, not giving him a chance to recover before throwing him again. He was barely conscious when the spirit threw him, not against the wall but out the window.
Dean was 3 stories up. He had fallen to the ground without mercy. Somehow, managing to survive the fall, but, not without his fair share of injuries. He was knocked out, cold, one of Dean's biggest fears was coming true. This was it. This was the end. He was going to be killed by a monster he hunted, alone, without a savior in sight.
Beth woke Sam, it was 2 am.
"Sam! Sam! I need you, Sam. It hurts so bad!"
Sam jumped awake. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"
"I think it's time, Sam."
Sam was out of bed and on his feet immediately. He got dressed in a hurry, going to wake Nancy. They both, together, helped Beth to the car. Sam made sure he had grabbed the bag Beth packed for the hospital, along with the car seat. Nancy drove, Sam was too nervous to drive. This is the moment they had all been waiting for.
They got her to the hospital and to the labor room. No one even questioned Sam's presence, in fact, everyone assumed he was the father. Sam didn't set them straight, he had decided they could think what they wanted.
It seemed like a lifetime. Hours ticking by slowly. He rubbed her back, fed her ice chips, held her hand, placed cool, damp rags on her head, talked gently to each other. Sam was there, the entire time, right by her side. It was time! It was time to push. Everything was ready. Sam held her hand, reminding her to breathe.
He was amazed. He stayed by her side, watching the innocent life come into the world. Tears fell, from both Sam and Beth, when the first little cry was made. Sam cut the cord, just like the father. The sweet baby was placed in Beth's arms. Sam just as amazed, wanting to touch him, feel his softness.
She handed him to Sam. He was amazed holding the newborn. The two of them, experiencing this amazing moment together. Sam remained at the hospital until they were discharged. He helped Beth every step of the way. He changed diapers, fed him, and even rocked him to sleep while Beth got some much-needed rest. Once they were back home, nothing changed. Sam continued to help with the little one, who Beth decided to name 'Samuel Dean' after the two who had saved her and little Samuel.
Sam fit into the father role without a problem. He would let Beth sleep while he woke at midnight, 2 am, 4 am… to take care of little Samuel. Nancy was impressed. She had watched Sam go from the broken person he was when he brought Dean there to heal, to the man, the father figure, he had become. Sam wasn't sure how to be a father, he didn't exactly have the best role model, but he knew what he always wanted. He knew what not to do, and he knew how to follow his heart.
Time went by so quickly. Before he knew it, little Samuel was a month old, he was eating more, sleeping less, growing, creating his own little personality. He wasn't sure if anyone else could see the individual he was becoming, but Sam could see it, even though he was still so little.
He had left his old life in the past, hadn't thought of his brother much at all. He was thankful he wasn't there. Thankful he had the chance to become a man, and a father figure for such a wonderful baby, and, he also became not only Beth's best friend, but was starting a relationship with her as well. Something he never thought he would have, not since the yellow eyed demon had killed Jess. But, this was better, better than he could have ever expected it to be. This is what he had been missing his entire life.