Chapter Two
On the Road
The road slipped by beneath the wheels of the Impala in relative silence. Dean wasn't talking and Sam wasn't going to push the issue, and certainly no one was in the mood for music.
Sam knew deep in his heart what this was doing to his brother. He just knew that aside from himself there was no one that meant more to Dean than Lisa and Ben.
Lisa and Ben… yes, those were the thoughts foremost in Dean's head as well. They had been his family, his home for a full year. And He knew it had taken a lot of love for Lisa to let him go the way she had. She had promised to be there whenever he wanted to come back. And he'd convinced himself that staying away was what was best for them.
And now this… what could be after them now? And was he going to be too late?
Images flashed through his mind.
Lisa's smile… The firm softness of her body beneath his.
The welcome comfort in her arms when he came to her grieving after Sam had fallen into hell.
Waking up each morning with her curled up against him.
Her unflagging devotion to him and her son.
Ben… working together on the truck… making a mother's day breakfast for Lisa together.
An everyday normal life.
The minutes and miles moved along until early afternoon when they stopped to refuel the Impala. Sam got out of the car, on the pretext of stretching his legs. Dean went inside to use the facilities and grab some food. He claimed it was so Sam would not forget the pie.
Sam knew otherwise... Dean was trying to keep his mind busy so that he could contain his worry and the sense of helplessness. They should be there before nightfall and it sure would have helped matters to know what they were going to find when they got there.
To that end Sam had managed to snag the phone Dean had received the call on and he hoped Dean's business inside allowed him time. He went around to the driver's side of the Impala, putting himself out of direct line of sight of the door of the small convenience store. He skimmed the contacts, selected Lisa's number and pressed SEND
Once again it went straight to Voice mail. Only unlike Dean he left a brief message "Lisa, or Ben, this is Sam, if you get this message just know that Dean and I are on our way, We should be there in a few hours."
Double damn. Sam knew the mountain of guilt that would lie at Dean's feet if it turned out to be something in the supernatural realm. The loss of their mother had turned their dad into a vengeful obsessed hunter. When Jessica died he had been devastated and he would do anything to spare his brother that kind of anguish.
"You about ready to go?" Dean called, coming out the door with three bags of junk food and bottled water. Oh yeah-and pie.
"Yeah" Sam replied, stuffing the cell phone deep in the pocket of his jacket before Dean could see it. 'You've been driving for the last eighteen hours. How about letting me take this next leg? You could really use some sleep."
To his surprise Dean didn't argue. "Okay, I need to be sharp when we get there."
For Sam the next few hours were pretty uneventful.
Dean's sleep on the other hand was plagued with disturbing nightmarish images. His subconscious running rampantly out of control. A vivid alternate replaying of a little boy's memory of his mother's death, and the hallucinations of a yellow-eyed demon, killing Lisa and poisoning Ben like he'd done Sammy. Again and again, Lisa's face, her voice and eyes accusing him through blood and flames. 'Dean, you did this to me.'
"NO!" he cried out, jerking awake, in a cold sweat, his heart pounding.
Sam eased off on the accelerator, looking with concern at his brother. "Dean? You okay?"
Dean took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself. His response to Sam's question was a question of his own. "How much farther to Cicero?"
"About an hour"
"Then step on it, Sammy. Time is wasting and we are burning daylight."
With a new surge of speed, the Impala practically flew over the pavement.
