The knife plunged into his skin again, elicting a sharp inhale as he held back a scream. He continued to hold back the scream as it was dragged along his torso, until it finally erupted from his clenched jaw when the blade scratched against his rib.
Gasping for air, for relief, for some escape from this literal hell hole, he held back tears.
Allistair, the old demon, stood, clutching the knife dripping with Dean's blood, grinning with satisfaction as he watched one tear slip out of Dean's green eyes.
"Are you ready to accept my offer yet, Dean?" he asked, the sadistic grin still on his face.
"Never," Dean mustered courageously, holding back shakes that wracked his body.
I jolted back into reality, clutching at the familiar, worn counter beneath my fingertips.
"You had another vision, didn't you?" Bobby asked, offering a beer to me as the I pulled my hair off my face in what I hoped was not a frantic gesture.
"I hope it's nothing more than a nightmare," I said, downing a large portion of the bottle. Two weeks since Dean had been taken, and I was still having visions of Dean's torture every so often.
"Sam, do you want to tell me-" Bobby asked before I cut him off.
"Dammit, no I don't Bobby. Ive got to find a way to get him out!" I said, grabbing the duffel and taking off to the Impala, squealing off before Bobby could even call me an idjit.
I drove for twelve hours before I pulled over to refuel Dean's baby and get a motel. As I pumped gas, a petite and rather attractive brunette walked over to me. Although walked wasn't really the right word- she swung her hips as if she knew she was hot stuff, and I was not in the mood to deal with her.
"Hey Sammy," she said, causing me to jump.
"How the hell do you know my name?" I asked, reaching for the knife in my back pocket.
"You know only my knife will work, honey," she said, waggling a serrated blade.
"Ruby?" I asked, incredulously.
"The one and only. What's up Sammy?"
"Only Dean calls me that!" I said to the demon.
"Called, sweetheart. Although I hear he screams it pretty loud down in hell. I mean-"
"Shut up! What the hell do you want?" I asked. I felt a vision creeping in as she mentioned Dean's torture and screams. Pushing it back, I awaited an answer.
"To help you get revenge. You cant get big brother back, but you can kill Lilith, and I want in," she stated, grinning.
"How?"
"Demon blood, of course. You just have to be willing, and I'll train you," she said.
Dean would never want me to accept help. But, Ruby did almost save Dean. She might be sincere. And maybe, just maybe, I could get him back from hell. Or stop the visions.
"Come on, Sam, I know you want revenge, and I know you want the visions gone. It'll help, I promise," she said, seductively.
"I'm in."
Ruby pulled me in for a kiss, and pressed a bloody hand to my mouth.
3.5 Months Later
I had finally pulled up to Bobby's with the crap car I had found once I was magically back up on earth. First day back from Hell, and my baby was not to be driven.
I slammed the beater's door and walked through the junk yard, breathing in the familiar scent and relishing in the fall air.
It sure as hell beat the fires of hell.
I knocked on Bobby's door, standing back slightly, not knowing what his reaction would be.
No surprise, he came out swinging.
"Bobby, stop. It's me, really. Not a demon, or a shapeshifter," I exclaimed as he charged me with the knife. I sidestepped it, trying to get him to calm down. He came at me again, and I grabbed his wrist, bringing the silver blade down across my palm, a bit to deeply as he had the momentum to kill in mind.
"See?" I said, holding up my hand.
"Dean?" he asked, taken aback.
"The one and only!"
He looked at me shocked, before tossing half a container of Holy Water at my face.
"Not a demon!" I said again, as he wrapped me in an embrace.
"Son, how?" he said, stepping back. I looked my father figure in his eyes.
"Not a clue," I said, "I was hoping I could smack some sense into Sam. It had to have been him. Where is he?"
"Gone. Left two weeks after you went down," Bobby said.
"What the hell? You just let him go! Is he even alive?" I sputtered.
"He ran off…he was having- visions- of you. He's alive as of last night when he called. I already traced his phone from the call. He's about three hours away. Trying to track a lead on Lilith. He figured killing her might get you back, or at the very least get him some revenge."
"Damn," I swore as Bobby led me to his car straightaway.
Sammy is in deep this time, I thought, wrapping my hand as Bobby sped off. I nodded off slowly in the seat next to him.
The heat licked at my legs, singing my skin in a perpetual state of heat.
"The great Dean Winchester, so nice to meet you," a demon said to me, holding out a knife that looked eager for blood.
"Who the hell are you?" I spat, trying to ignore the pain from the hooks driven in my shoulder and sides, holding me in the air.
"My apologies. I am Allistair. I was never one for formalities. Let's skip straight to the fun, shall we?"
He brought the knife down into my arm, twisting the serrated blade in my muscle. I bit back a scream until he reached the bone.
"Sammy!"
I awoke with a start, relieved to be in Bobby's truck.
"You okay, son?" he asked me.
"Yes sir. Nightmare is all."
"Okay." He said. Nightmares were common for hunters, and I thought I was in the clear. "Worst nightmare I've ever seen. Was it hell?"
"Bobby, I don't remember hell. It was nothing," I lied. He raised an eyebrow, but gave up as we reached a motel in Sammy's general area.
We persuaded the motel manager to give us Sam's room number, and we walked slowly up the stairs.
Not good for a quick getaway, what is he thinking. Reckless.
Bobby knocked on his door, and he opened it, wearing jeans and nothing else, a petite brunette hiding behind him.
"What is – Dean?" he exclaimed, pulling a knife out of his back pocket at the same time.
"Easy tiger. Bobby already tested me, see?" I said, holding up my bloody bandage wrapped hand. Sammy then dumped Holy Water on me as I spat.
"Dean?" he said again, this time almost pleading.
I simply embraced the overgrown teddy bear. He was what got me through hell, afterall.
"How- why?" he asked.
"I was hoping you could tell me. No deals, right?"
"No, I tried," he sighed.
"Then what did you do!?"
"Nothing! I've been tracking Lilith, that's it!"
I watched as the lithe brunette snuck past us, waving goodbye to Sam.
"Doesn't look that's ALL you've been doing," I joked. He gave me a small half smile.
"I guess we need to find out who did then," he said, "I was praying something got you out. I mean, my visions stopped completely about a month ago."
"Visions?" I asked, trying to control my temper.
"Nothing, nothing," Sammy said, way too quickly, "Dean, do you remember anything?"
"Nope," I lied again. If his visions stopped a month ago, then he somehow didn't know all that I had done to innocent souls. One stroke of good luck in all of my life.
"Dean, I know what you experienced, you can tell me," Sammy begged, whipping out the puppy eyes that I had dearly missed.
"I don't remember, Sammy. And are you okay, having seen things and all?"
"Yes." He said, a cloud momentarily passing before his hazel eyes.
"Sammy-"
"No chick flick moments," he said, using my own line to try and change the topic.
"Sam, I'm glad to have you again/"
"Yeah, glad you're back, bro." he said, grinning and hugging me again.
"Chick-y overload, man!" I said, stepping back.
"Whatever. Let's roll," Sam said, leading me to my baby out back.
Definitely beat hell.