CHAPTER 1

"Bobby! Bobby, I got him!" Sam cried through the phone. "We are in the second building, toward the back. Come as quick as you can." Sam quickly hung up and ran forward.

He lifted the body that was in front of him, relieving the pressure from the ropes that hung his body in the air. His hands were solid white, like they hadn't had any circulation running to them for days. Not that it mattered, it isn't like the body he held knew any different.

His skin was pale and cold. His blood being drained from his body through a small needle that was connected to the tube in his arm. The bag that held a portion his missing blood hung on a hook beside him.

His body was covered in dirt and mud from an obvious struggle that the man lost. Bruises lined the side of his face and torso. He had a large swollen spot on the side of his head where something hard was forced against it. His legs had lost all strength. His toes pointed lifelessly to the ground.

His wrists were the only thing that seemed to hold any color, if the redness from the ropes engraving into his skin counted as color. He didn't even seem to have enough blood to bleed out through the raw wounds that the ropes had dug.

Sam removed the needle that was taking away precious blood. He then cut the ropes that held him in their grasps. He carefully laid the body onto the floor beside his feet as he sat beside him. He held pressure to the spot the needle was removed, knowing every drop of blood could mean the difference between life and death.

He cradled the man's head in his lap, his free hand stroked the spiked hair that had stuck to his forehead. His eyes filled with tears as his heart filled with fear. He worked on removing the embedded ropes and freeing the lifeless hands. Shreds of his shirt barely hung on at his shoulders. His pale feet were bare, his socks and shoes long sense been removed.

"I got you. I got you." He whispered.

The sudden noise startled Sam and he quickly turned his head, seeing Bobby fast approaching.

"Oh, god." Bobby stopped in his tracks and gasped at the site in front of him. His hand instinctively covered his mouth.

"He's still alive, Bobby. I don't know what to do." Sam spoke with desperation.

Bobby dropped to his knees in front of Sam. "Okay, we'll figure this out." He sighed as he looked around his surroundings.

"Did you get it? Is it dead?" Bobby questioned and he quickly stood to begin what rescue techniques he could manage at the moment.

"Yeah. The damn thing's dead. I made sure of that!" Sam's voice held anger and frustration.

Bobby nodded. "Good."

He had acquired the needle that Sam had previously removed and reinserted it into the arm it had just come from. "Hopefully this doesn't give him too bad of an infection. Doesn't seem like cleanliness was on the top of anyone's list the past couple days."

He really didn't have to say anything, but he had an overwhelming need to fill the silence with something other than fear and more questions. "I'm gonna let the blood that was drained from him go back into his body. It may not be the most hygienic thing right now, but it's the only thing I can think of that's gonna save his life right now."

"Is it gonna be enough? It's not even close to what's been removed."

"Well, boy, it's better than nothing. The way it looks, even a few drops could mean he'll stay alive long enough for us to do something else."

Sam nodded. He knew they didn't have many options. Especially in their current location.

It was an abandoned town in the middle of nowhere. One that no one even cared to visit anymore. A town who's ghost stories were told out years ago. It looked similar to an old western town. Tumbleweeds and dust flew around the empty streets. The old buildings were only partly standing. Some of them had collapsed all together.

It was a town that was built around an old factory. When the factory closed down the town moved on to where the jobs were. Without money to support the local businesses they soon closed and any town folks left rotted away without means of transportation or any available goods. Even they were forgotten with the town.

The only thing left was rotten, falling down buildings and the meager belongs that were left spread around the town. There were other bodies Sam and Bobby found during their search. But they all appeared to have been dead for a while. Their flesh rotting away in the summer heat.

Both men paused several times to partake of the water they were sure to carry with them, and to wipe the sweat from their brows. The summer heat was unforgiving. The sun was shining bright without a cloud in site. The nearest town with any life was an hour's drive away.

Bobby stood beside Sam, pushing the blood back into the starving veins. "We're gonna have to move him soon."

Sam looked up, acknowledging that the old man spoke but didn't reply back.

"Gonna have to start working on getting him to the nearest town, in case he needs medical help." Bobby continued.

"Yeah. Okay." Sam's voice sounded distant as he spoke.

Bobby stood beside Sam, forcing the remaining of the blood back into the starved veins. Both men had sweat pouring from them before they were able to move. Bobby didn't shift positions until the last drop of blood was back where it belonged and the needle was removed.

"Help me get him out to the car." Bobby knelt beside Sam and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder as he spoke.

Sam nodded but gave no other response. Together they lifted the near lifeless body. His head lolled to the side, leaning against Sam's arm. His arms and legs motionless. His face one of emotionless unconsciousness. They carefully made their way to the car. Sam opted to sit in the back seat with the body they had just rescued. He held onto the hope that he could somehow bring life back into the eerily still body. Once they were both settled, Bobby began the long drive to the nearest town.

"Hey, Bobby?"

"Yeah?"

"You think he'll be alright?"

"Sam, I'm not really sure how to answer that." Bobby released a sigh. "I want to say yes. With everything in me I want to say yes."

"Yeah. Me too." Sam was sure he couldn't sound sadder if he tried.

He couldn't help but run his worried fingers through the mess of hair that laid in his lap.

"How much longer?" Sam questioned, feeling restless as the anxiety inside him built.

"It's only been a little over 10 minutes, Sam. Now will you please stop asking?" Bobby answered with a huff. "Look, boy, I know you're worried. Hell, we both are. But, you worrying like this isn't gonna help either of us."

"I know. I'm sorry, Bobby. It's just he's my brother. You know?"

"Yeah, kid, I know. Trust me, I'm just as worried as you are right now."

A slight moan came from the head that was resting on Sam's legs.

Sam attempted to sooth the discomfort that was surrounding him. He tried to calm the fight that was taking place in front of him. The fight inside someone else's mind. The fight he couldn't do anything about.

"Hey, it's okay, Dean. I got you brother. I got you, it's okay." Sam spoke gently as he stroked his brother's hair.

"Sss'mmm." Dean mumbled out.

"I'm here, Dean. I'm right here."

"Sam?"

"Hey, Dean, it's okay. I'm right here."

"Sam!" Dean's unconscious voice began to panic.

"Shhhh. It's okay, Dean, what ever it is it's okay."

Dean's head started moving back and forth, his breaths came out in quick, shallow puffs of air.

"Sammy!" Dean screamed out from his sleep induced thoughts as he fought against the dreams running through his head.

"Let it go, Dean. Just stop fighting it." Sam attempted to pull his brother from unconsciousness.

Dean continued to struggle against the thought running wild inside. His struggles were only interrupted by his cries for his brother.

"Come back to me, please." Sam begged. "It's okay. It's all going to be okay." He wasn't sure if he was trying to convince himself or Dean, but he needed someone to believe it would all be okay in the end.

The fight inside his brother's mind didn't seem to be calming down. He appeared to become more anxious, more fearful. There was a tear that slipped between closed eyes and rolled onto Sam's knee as Dean turned his head away from his brother's body with a groan.

"Hey, Dean, can you hear me?" Sam waited a moment before continuing. "If… if you can hear me, I really need you to try to wake up. Okay? I really need you to let me know you're going to be okay. I'm scared here, man. I don't know what to do. I need my big brother more than anything right now. I really need you to remind me how tough you are. I need you to remind me you're going to be okay."

"Sammy?" Dean mumbled through the weakness.

"Yeah?"

"Ssss… stop b'n a g'rl." Dean's words were slurred but Sam knew him well enough to know what he was saying.

Sam released a tear filled chuckle. "Man, about time you decided to rejoin the land of the living."

"If I open my eyes am I gonna have to look at your face?" His words were still slurred and mumbled but became easier to understand the longer he was awake.

"I don't know, why don't you open your eyes and see for yourself?"

Dean just groaned as pressed his face into Sam's stomach for a moment of relief from the spinning taking place behind closed lids. After a moment, he pulled his face away and slowly opened his too heavy eyes.

"Hey beautiful." Sam chuckled.

"Bite me!"

With shaking arms Dean attempted to push himself into a seated position but failed. His failed attempt was met with a groan. He wasn't able to use his hands like he wanted. He wasn't sure why, that was the most frustrating part.

"Hey, take it easy. Gotta get the blood flowing through your hands before you're able to use them properly. And last time I checked, it requires blood in order for it to flow. That's something you're kinda lacking right now." Sam tried to keep things lighthearted as he helped push Dean into a seated position.

"This sucks!" Dean huffed as he tried to wipe a hand down his face but only managed to get his hand to partly work.

"Yeah, well, hopefully its just temporary."

"Hopefully?"

"How you feeling there kid?" Bobby interrupted the boys' moment to make Dean aware that he was there.

Dean groaned and looked up, just realizing someone else was there.

"That good, huh?" Bobby chuckled.

"What… What the hell happened? Where are we?" Dean questioned with confusion equally matching his facial expression and tone of his voice.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Bobby questioned.

"Uh…" Dean thought for a moment. His brows crinkled in the middle of his forehead with confusion. "The last thing? I uh… um… the last thing I remember is after we finished Dad's funeral Sam and I were heading to your place."

"Dean?" It was Sam's turn to sound confused and concerned.

Dean turned to look at Sam but didn't reply with words.

"Dad's not dead."

"Yeah he is, Sammy. We both watched him die, remember? He killed himself to get rid of Yellow Eyes… to save us."

"Dean. Dad's missing. He's not dead. You came to my school and got me so I could help you look for him, remember?"

"Yeah, Sam, I know that. But a lot has happened since then."

"Yeah, it has, but Dad dying isn't one of those things."

"What?"

"Unless something's happened that we don't know about, Dad's not dead."

"You sure?"

"Dude, I wouldn't lie to you about something like this."

"Yeah, yeah I know… but…" Dean looked back and forth between the two men. He knew he had seen his dad die, he knew he was there when they gave him a hunter's funeral. So, why was Sam telling him it wasn't true? Why was Sam saying their dad was still alive? Could it be true? Is there a possibility that perhaps it was just a dream? Winchester luck would never be so kind to them. But, Sam was certain neither of them had watched their dad die. The image was still in his head, somehow it had happened at least in his own head.

If what Sam was saying is true. If their dad wasn't dead. Then… then maybe there's hope. Maybe he wouldn't have to suffer knowing he was the reason they had both become orphans. Maybe… just maybe it will all be okay.