"Sammy? Cas?" Dean shouts, holding a hand to his aching head. "Where is everyone?" He yells, getting out of bed for the first time in days.
He shuffles out of his room to the stairs and using the rail along the wall, pulls himself up the steps to the main room. To his surprise, the bunker is empty. He finds a note held down by a bottle of water that reads, 'drink me. Back soon' in Sam's handwriting.
He removes the cap from the bottle, flops into a chair and chugs the water down in one gulp. He hadn't realized just how thirsty he was until he started drinking. Still feeling weak, he sits at the table, takes out his phone and dials Sam's number. The call is sent straight to voicemail. "Hey, where the hell are you?" He groans into the receiver. "And where's Cas? Call me back."
Setting the phone down, the sound of Cas' wings blows a cool breeze through the room. "Dean, what are you doing up?"
"Hey, Cas. I'm wondering where you all went? I woke up, and Sam's not answering his phone and…" Dean notices Cas' trench coat covered in soot and ash. "Where have you been?" Dean asks, suddenly overtaken by a coughing fit.
"I went to find a cure for whatever it is that has made you so sick. Are you feeling any better?"
"I can't say that I am," Dean begins, clenching his jaw to hold back a cough. "It took all my energy to get this far. My head hurts, and my chest feels like an elephant is sitting on it. Did you find anything?"
"Well, not exactly. But I found Rowena and let's say she is looking into it. She thinks whatever it is, is somehow only connected to you. Some personal curse."
"Great! I don't even know who it could be or why they want me dead." Dean takes in air through his teeth. "Meantime, where the hell is Sam?"
"I left him here with you. Are you sure he's not here?"
Dean holds up the note. "Be back soon. So no, he's not here."
Cas breathes a heavy sigh. "Alright, let's get you back to bed, and then I will see if I can locate your brother."
The restraints around Sam's arms and legs dig into his skin, the more he struggles, and with each motion, the strap around his neck feels tighter. He realizes he has no idea how long he's been down here or whether it's day or night.
The light from above streams in and a bulb comes to life above his head illuminating the gray walls and wood floor. Ruby stands before him holding a silver blade outstretched. "Let's see how far you've come, Sammy. How about a taste? I know you still yearn for the demon blood. I've heard the stories of how you've relapsed over the years." She cuts her forearm, letting the blood drip off the blade into puddles on the floor.
"I don't do that anymore, Ruby!" Sam bellows, tightening his jaw.
"You do now," Ruby snaps, gripping his face, squeezing his cheeks to force his mouth open. She rubs her arm against his lips, dripping her blood onto them.
Sam spits it back at her, refusing to accept the blood, knowing she's right about his bloodlust. He's like a drug addict with years of sobriety, and he's not willing to revisit the horrors of those days not now that he and Dean are in a good place.
Ruby grips his hair, pulling his head back, so he is facing the ceiling, and his throat is exposed. She holds the bloody blade against his neck, cutting his jawline. He groans in pain, trying to swallow. She slashes at his chest, ripping open his shirt and cutting him. Again he growls in pain, gritting his teeth. She straddles him, still holding onto his hair. As he takes a breath, she presses her arm into his mouth and then holds her hand over it, so he has no other choice but to swallow. The tin taste of her blood makes him gag, and his stomach hurt. He begins to cough and spit in an attempt to rid himself of the blood, but it's too late. A single drop of Ruby's blood and Sam knows he will be destroyed.
Castiel knocks quietly on Dean's door. "Dean, you awake?"
"Yeah, Cas. Come on in," Dean answers in a barely audible tone.
Cas steps into the room to find Dean half sitting up against the wall. His green eyes are bloodshot and sunken in, and his skin is pale.
Cas sits in the chair next to the bed. "You look awful, Dean."
"Oh darn, I thought I was getting better," Dean jokes, coughing.
"Well, you're not, "Cas responds in his serious tone. "And unless we find out who did this to you-you don't have much time. Do you remember anything out of the ordinary happening just before you got sick? Did something happen while you and Sam were tracking the vampires?"
Dean wipes a hand down his face. "The nest was in an abandoned warehouse. It was cold and dark, and smelled like rotting food and dirty socks, but nothing we couldn't handle. Sam took on the daddy vamp while I took out the worker bees. It was all routine, Cas," he recalls. "I mean, we didn't check teeth before we got the hell out of there."
"That could be it. I'll go back to the warehouse and look around."
"Hey, Cas. Have you heard from Sam? He's still not answering his phone."
"Dean, I'm sure he's just out getting groceries. You know how he likes to go to the farmer's market."
Dean leans his head back, closing his eyes. "Yeah, that's probably it."
