A/N: There is something out in the forest. Something that kills.

A vision leads Sam to his injured brother. What first looked like a normal wound can turn into something more dangerous and life-threatening in a heartbeat. Just an excuse for Hurt!Dean! ^^

A/N: Hey there everybody!

So this is my first try to write a fanfic in English. It's not my first language so please be kind concerning the mistakes. I really try to avoid them but sometimes… ^^

A huge thanks to my wonderful beta JeanyAlicia (dunno what I should do without you, honey!)

The idea for this story popped up in my head a while ago in the middle of the night. And yeah, I have to admit it's just an excuse for some hurt!Dean! *evil grins*

But I honestly have to say that I'm not 100 where I want to head with all this. So ideas would be great. ^^

Hope you like it anyways! ^^ And reviews would be great! *puppy dog eyes*

Disclaimer: It all belongs to Kripke and the CW. I just play with it! ^^

Swallow The Knife

now our hands are tied
and our world is caving in.

now our hands are tied.
the problems lie within.
so we pray for night to start over again.
words are spoken words are broken down

so lets make this night
be our best mistake.
so lets take the time
to wipe the blood away.

Swallow The Knife By Story Of the Year

Prologue

He is running. Gun in his hand and ready to shoot.

His breath is coming in short pants.

His eyes are searching the pitch black darkness which is only illuminated by a few spots of pale moonlight, creeping through some openings in the thick treetops.

It has to be somewhere around here….

A rustle lets him turn around, finger on the trigger - but there is nothing except for tree trunks and bushes.

Suddenly something attacks him from behind and throws him against a tree ….

Everything starts to get blurry until it fades into darkness ….

Chapter 1

"Dean!" Sam woke with a start from a restless sleep in front of his laptop. Blinking owlish against the bright motel room light, he tried to figure out what just happened. Was it a dream? He honestly doubted it.

While searching the room for his brother, who apparently was not there, he tried to loosen the cramp in his back.

His gaze fell upon the clock on the laptop screen. Nearly one and a half hour had passed since Dean had been heading out for food.

With a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach he grabbed his cell and dialed the number of his brother. It seemed to ring an eternity and eventually went to voicemail.

Sam looked at his cell a little confused and tried again.

"C'mon Dean, pick up!" But the result was still the same.

"Damnit!" he said with feeling, threw the cell back onto the table and started pacing up and down the room.

Something was wrong. Something was really wrong, he could feel that. Scratch that, he had seen it.

___________

With a few deep breaths he tried to calm himself and concentrated on the pictures he had seen in his vision.

Trees – Dean had to be a few minutes outside the town. But what the hell did he do there? And the more important question was what the hell was he tracking?!

Once again Sam grabbed his cell but the answer was still the same.

Slowly but surely he felt panic rise. Dean was hurt, that was for sure - if not worse …

Stop! Don't think that way!

Without further thinking Sam grabbed one of the guns form the duffle and his cell and stormed out of the room, only to realise that Dean was away with the Impala.

"Crap!" he cursed and looked around the parking lot. There were five other cars.

It didn't take long for Sam to start the old dark gray Golf and hotwired it out of town.

__________

Barely fifteen minutes later the headlights were showing the reflection of a car on the gravel side of the road.

Sam exhaled relieved only to recognize that it wasn't the Impala which was parked on the roadside but a green Fiat.

He slowed the car down to nearly walking speed.

Something was strange about the car. It was dark and looked abandoned though the two front doors were wide open. And he couldn't see anybody who could possibly be the owner of the car.

__________

Sam parked the car a few feet behind the Fiat and got out of the car. Gun held firmly in one hand, flashlight in the other.

The night air was cool and unnaturally silent. Sam couldn't even hear some crickets. A slight shiver ran down his spine. He couldn't say if it was from the night chill or his rising fear for what he could possibly find out here.

On his right side a forest lay like a thick black and impenetrable wall.

As Sam came closer he could see the broken window and the blood which covered the door and part of the seat on the driver's side.

A closer inspection revealed no signs for anything supernatural or some kind of animal which was hitten by the car.

"Hello? Is anybody out there?" Sam shouted into the silence of the night and scanned his surroundings again.

And suddenly he saw it – just a few hundred yards in front of the Fiat the Impala parked.

Dean! Sam almost stumbled over his own feet as he raced to the black muscle car.

The driver's door was wide open but nobody was behind the steering-wheel or somewhere else inside the car. At least as far as Sam could tell.

When he came closer he could make out a dark heap next to the open door.

"Dean!"

Just seconds later Sam was kneeling in front of his obviously unconscious brother. Despite his unconscious state Dean had a death grip at his gun.

Blood trickled constantly from a gash above his brow and created a harsh contrast to the pallor of his face. A fine sheen of sweat glistened in the shine of the flashlight.

"Dean! C'mon man, wake up!" Sam was shaking him.

Dean's head lolled a little to one side and Sam could make out a soft moan.

"C'mon! You have to wake up!" Sam tried again. He threw a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure nothing was coming after them.

Dean's eyelids started to flutter. "Smy?" he slurred.

"Yeah, it's me. You're with me?" Sam didn't break his hold on Dean's shoulder yet.

"Ya k?" Glassy green eyes struggled to focus on his baby brother in front of him.

Sam's only answer was a soft snort as he checked his brother's pupils for signs of concussion - relieved to find none.

"Wha happn?"

"You're asking me?" Sam's face was tight with concern.

Dean still fought to keep his eyes open and focused. However slowly but surely the haze inside his head started to clear.

"You're hurt somewhere else?" The younger Winchester reached out his hand to search for any other injuries but Dean batted him away.

"M'fine. Just a hell of a headache and I think I bumped my arm pretty good."

Sam didn't believe him but decided to ignore the topic till they got back to the motel.

"Okay, then let's head back to the motel." Sam helped his sibling back to his feet and consigned him to the passenger seat. The absence of Dean's bitching concerned Sam even more.

Dean leaned back into the seat and closed his eyes against the spinning of his surroundings.

It got more and more dificult to keep his eyes open.

Right before Sam took his place behind the steering wheel he threw a last glance back to the Fiat. He couldn't hold his questions back anymore. "Dean, you know something 'bout the Fiat or his inmates?! And what the hell did you do outside here?" he gave his brother a close once-over.

Dean opened his eyes for a brief moment and returned his baby brother's glare before he closed them again. "Doesn't matter anymore. Found 'em in the forest. Well, better that what is left of them…." He said quietly. "Bitch got 'em."

Sam swallowed hard and turned on the engine.

"Dean, how did you get here? And how did you know where to look?" The break that arose was so long that Sam thought Dean might have lost consciousness again.

But eventually his big brother's voice cut through the silence. "Couple of teens were talking 'bout the Fiat at the dinner. Thought it couldn't hurt to check on it." He shut his eyes tightly against the throbbing pain in his head which seemed to intensify by the minute. His breath came in short pants and his left arm was pressed tightly against his body.

Inside Sam's head alarm bells started ringing loudly. "You're okay?!"

"M'fine." Came the expected answer. "Jus give me a sec."

The younger Winchester threw another quick glance to his brother before he pushed at the accelerator a little harder.

"While I was inspecting the car I saw something at the tree line." Dean said after a while. His voice sounded strained.

Sam jumped slightly at the unexpected sound.

They had arrived the outskirts and it shouldn't take long to be back at the motel.

"Apparently the it is a she. Not sure what it is yet. Followed her but she got the better of me. Think I blacked out at some point."

Yeah, think I know when that was, Sam thought and turned left.

"When I regained consciousness she was standing over me. I shot her but it didn't kill her. Hell I think it didn't even really hurt her. She only ran away. Things getting hazy after that …" Dean's voice got weaker with every passing minute.

Finally they arrived at the motel parking lot. Sam tried to park the car as close as possible to their motel room.

"C'mon, Dean, stay with me. We're here." He killed the engine and got out of the Impala.

Dean hadn't tried to move yet when Sam opened the passenger door.

"Hey, think your bed is more comfortable than the car seat. And I still need to check your injuries." He carefully shook his older brother's shoulder, alarmed by the amount of heat coming through the layers of fabric.

Infection? That soon?

Dean mumbled something incoherent but eventually Sam half dragged, half carried his older sibling inside their motel room and to his bed nearest the door.

Dean leaned against the headboard with a small groan. Eyes closed against the too bright light. His left arm felt on fire but the rest of him was so fucking cold.

He could hear Sam rummaging through the room, then the mattress next to him gave in and a cold hand pressed against his forehead.

Dean turned his head away from the touch. "Back off! M'fine. Jus need some sleep, that's all." He muttered.

"Dude, you're burning up. You're far from fine. Let me check your arm."

Dean could hear the concern and the slight panic in his baby brother's voice.

It was a slow and painful process to get his brother out of his jacket and over shirt but finally Sam could see the bite mark a few inches above his elbow. It looked like vampire marks though he doubted it were.

The skin around the two little holes was red and angry and hot to the touch. Next to the holes it was nearly purple. Red streaks started to creep higher on the arm.

Sam's panic spiked.

This didn't look like a normal infection. It looked more like some kind of poisoning.

"Crap! Whatever it was in the forest it must be poisonous."

TBC …