Sam, Interrupted Tag Story

Chapter 1:

Doctor Erica Cartwright was a reasonable, rational person. She had built her life on a foundation of science, on the fact that certain treatment for patients, whether medication or therapy, worked a certain way to help them. It grounded her, kept her concept of reality firm when there were so many confused people surrounding her at her job.

So when Erica dashed into the isolation room, the red lights flashing and screeching a warning around her, she was pretty much knocked on her ass.

Nurse Karla was slumped against the wall, a scalpel protruding from her chest, eyes wide and unseeing. But surprisingly, that wasn't the frightening part. The frightening part was what looked like some kind of spike protruding from her wrist, having been snapped off and leaking blood all over the floor.

Erica knew the human body from head to toe, bones to muscles, completely. And what she saw looked nothing like anything she had ever seen before. Despite herself, she felt her feet bringing her closer to the nurse's dead body. The lights flashing and the sirens blaring around her dulled as she crept over, her heart racing. She knelt down beside Karla, staring intensely at the barb, swallowing tightly. She took a few deep breaths before shakily sliding her hand through the air and reaching out and touching the rough edge of the broken spur.

And it retracted back into Karla's wrist, causing Erica to shriek in surprise and fall backwards to the floor.

Her heart now pounding ten times faster than it had been a moment before, Erica stared at Karla, eyes wide. She crept back along the floor to the young woman, somehow unable to give up her scrutiny of the situation. Swallowing hard again, she carefully picked up the young woman's limp wrist, blinking several times at it. The spur had completely slid back under her skin, as if by a spontaneous, automatic response, disappearing under an indiscernible flap of skin.

Finally disturbed enough to let the situation go, Erica pushed herself to her feet, her breath coming quickly, and stumbled out the door.

00000

"And what exactly are you hoping to gain from this?" the tired nurse asked, glancing up to Erica. "He's being shipped out in three hours. Not our problem anymore. Thank God."

"Just…give me a few minutes," Erica murmured. The nurse shrugged dismissively, handing over the key to the room, and Erica went down the hall, unlocking and opening the door.

Martin Creaser lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, blinking occasionally. His wrists and ankles were in restraints.

Erica shut the door behind herself and walked over to him, prompting him to slide his eyes over to her. He stared at her for a while, waiting.

"…Yeah?" he finally muttered. "What, meds or something?"

Erica slowly shook her head. "I just…."

Martin suddenly narrowed his eyes slightly, shifting on the bed so he could look more directly at her. "Wait…." Martin's expression slid into tiredness as he slumped back and sighed, looking back to the ceiling. "I know that look."

"What look?" Erica asked, blinking.

"The look of someone who's scared and confused," he muttered. "I've seen it enough times to recognize it." Erica stared at him a little bit more. "What did you see?"

Erica's lips parted a bit and she hesitated. "I just needed to know…."

"What did you see?" Martin repeated.

"Her wrist," she whispered. "When I found her…she had something…sticking out of her wrist. Like a spike. It was broken off. Bleeding. But…I touched it and it…retracted." Martin pursed his lips. "What was it?"

"What was the spike, or what was she?" he asked tightly. Erica's heart seemed to skip a beat in her chest. "She was a wraith."

"A…wraith?" Erica breathed. "Like…. Dean. That's what he said—."

"If you're worried about two mental patients having escaped the ward, don't," Martin told her suddenly, moving his eyes back to her. "I called them here."

Erica narrowed her eyes. "You called them here?" she echoed.

"I told them there was something here," he responded. Martin's expression seemed to move toward regret and shame. "I'm…pretty much useless when it comes to this stuff now. I needed their help. They believed me, which says something. Believing a hunter who checked himself into a funny farm," he muttered, half to himself.

"Everything he said," she whispered, drawing Martin's attention back to her. "Everything he said from the moment he got here…."

"All true," Martin replied with a curt nod. Erica averted her gaze, her mind spinning. "I know, it's tough to get a grip on. But hey, life sucks and then you die, right? Or…not, in some cases." He chuckled morosely.

Erica looked back over to Martin, realizing what he was saying. "You aren't crazy?" she whispered.

Martin barked out a laugh. "Trust me, I need to be in here. That's why I checked myself in. And everyone in here, I'm pretty sure they're all insane. But the wraith thing, and the boys…." He shook his head. "That's not the insanity. The five suicides in here that none of the employees believed were murders…that's not the insanity. As much as it'd be easier to believe."

"My God," Erica whispered. She slid her eyes up to meet Martin's. "He talked about…the apocalypse. I mean…." Martin's gaze tightened. "You're telling me that's all real?"

"Listen," Martin murmured. "If there's anyone who can stick it to Lucifer…it'd be those two. So don't lose out all hope just yet." Erica let out a long breath. "You're thinking about taking a couple of weeks in Aruba, aren't you?"

Erica chuckled grimly. "Seems like a nice option at this point."

"Doc…" he said quietly. She glanced back to him. "You do good here. I see you with them. With the patients." Erica's expression softened a bit. "You can't live your life like the world is gonna end, even if it is. Cause that's no life."

"And they still make the time to come here?" Erica whispered suddenly. "Everything that's going on, they get a call from a friend about a few people dying in some mental hospital, something that could be nothing, and they come running?"

Martin's gaze shifted to a glare. "You don't get it, do you?" he asked. Erica blinked at him. "The world's still spinning. People are still hurting. There's a ton of shit hitting the fan, sure, but…if you can't make the time to help a friend who needs it…what kind of world are you saving anyway?"

Erica gazed evenly at Martin before nodding slowly. "I guess you're right." She shifted her weight on her feet. "You know what I asked him?"

"What?"

"I asked him…why does he have to fight the monsters?" Erica muttered. "And he said…he couldn't find anyone else that dumb."

Martin snorted. "Sounds like Dean."

Erica shook her head slowly. "He's just…so despondent," she breathed. "And I cannot imagine what it must be like. To fight every day for something that nobody else believes in. Going up against evil and…having nobody there to back you up."

"You're wrong," Martin said instantly. Erica narrowed her eyes at him questioningly. "You think they're the only two morons going up against Armageddon?" Comprehension dawned on Erica's face. "There are a lot of us out there."

"Us?"

"Hunters. But to tell you the truth…there's never been something like this before," he murmured. "Something this apocalyptic. It's always just been stuff like the wraith. Ghosts. Demons. Run of the mill evil."

"Run of the mill," Erica repeated.

Martin sighed, paused for a second. "Why are you talking to me?" he asked curiously.

Erica stared at Martin for a long moment. "I suppose…I wanted answers," she responded. "And if…." She paused.

"What?" he prompted.

"Could you give me a way to contact them?" she asked quietly. "Just…my friends work here and those boys probably saved a lot of lives. I don't know what I could do, but if they ever need help, I'd like to be able to offer it to them."

Martin gazed at Erica just long enough to make her shift her weight from one foot to another, uncomfortable. "I'll give you the number I called. The guy'll know how to get in touch with Sam and Dean. His name's Bobby. He'll put you on his personal can-call list in case any hunters need backup in the area." He paused. "It's a short list. He always appreciate the addition of a name." He told her the number and Erica quickly took out her cell, putting into her phone book.

Erica let out a long breath and nodded. "Alright." She narrowed her eyes a bit at him. "You're gonna be locked up. For a long time," she muttered. "For a murder you didn't commit. You said you killed Karla because she was killing patients and…nobody even believed you."

Martin tensed. "What of it?" he asked quietly. Erica continued to stare at him for a while, as if she could figure him out if she did so for long enough. Martin sighed and shrugged as best he could. "Better me than the boys."

Erica averted her gaze and nodded, a sudden understanding of hunters curling a knot into her stomach. "Thank you. For everything you did for the patients here."

It was a long moment before Martin answered. "You're welcome," he murmured, a shaky, uneasy pride apparent in his voice.

At that, Erica slowly left the room, walking silently back to her office, and dialed the number in her cell.

THE END