He's been away from the field for a long time and he was honest enough to admit to that. The incident with Sparkle had hardened him a little and then what had happened with Reese. He wasn't quite the innocent that he'd been, no longer the naïve imaginary friend who could be all things to all children.
He was here for Sam; Sam had been his best, his bravest and yet, up till recently, his biggest failure. Now he owed Sam, owed him his life, owed him the life of his friends.
The place was hideous; conjured up by his worst nightmares. Dark and dank, the heavy smell of metal, fire and blood. It seemed small at first glance but he knew that it was infinite, knew that it stretched beyond the here and now and way into eternity. He could hear the distant cries of the damned and he shuddered forcing himself to think of nice things, bright sunlit meadows, sweet chocolate cake and the soft hum of Weem's air guitar.
Sam was a small child but when he'd seen him again – wow – he had grown and grown and grown. Sam was a giant, something conjured up out of a fairy tale but there was still an odd air of innocence about him. Now Sam was small again, tiny almost, huddled in the corner with his arms above his head. He was moaning and there were wounds all over his body, lacerations down to the bone, tears smearing dirt and blood into his skin, eyes wild and panicked.
A bag of candy wasn't really a deterrent; a tray of nachos with marshmallow toppings couldn't defend a soul against torture. He didn't have any other weapons in his armoury but as he hunkered down and put his arms around his friend he felt sure that he could protect him, take care of him, make sure that he got back to that germ of a brother in one piece.
Sam's voice was soft; it wavered on his name, it cracked under the weight of Sam's suffering, wobbled beneath the salt of his tears. Sam crumpled into him and held onto him, hard, tight and unbelieving.
"Sully,"
And it was enough…
End