Summary: AU. The Croatoan virus has taken hold of the world, and as the Winchesters and their friends fight the ever growing horde, but then they meet a girl on the road to Kansas who may have ways to cure the virus. Please R&R!
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or its characters. I only own Lana Sherwood.
The Answer to Our Prayers
-Two-
"Right, Sam, Cas and Jo, you keep Lana with you...keep her safe." Dean said, "Crowley, Gabriel and Ellen, you take clothing and the sanitary stuff."
"Great." Crowley huffed, "Tampons, soap, contraception and toothpaste. It's just perfect."
Everyone ignored him because they'd gotten used to it. They could understand why he was pretty pissed though. They didn't know how it must feel for him to have been a powerful demon and suddenly lose all that power and strength.
"Bobby and Ash, you come with me. We'll get food." Dean said, "Make sure you're on alert at all times. No-one gets left behind."
They nodded, Jo glaring at Lana as she watched the way she was watching Dean. Dean and Lana had grown pretty close already, and she hated the idea of Lana taking Dean away from her. Jo and Dean were best friends, it would be like a crime.
"Cas..." Dean began, "C'mere..."
Castiel swallowed thickly, moving towards Dean who pulled him into an embrace, the two holding onto each other before sharing a deep kiss resting their foreheads together. Lana bit her lip, looking away from the two lovers which caught Sam's attention.
"Hey...y'okay?" He asked, Lana nodding in response.
"I...my brother was..." She began, tears filling her eyes, "H-he locked himself in our basement with his boyfriend after he'd been bitten..."
"I'm sorry..." Sam whispered, "I don't mean to make things worse...but...uh..."
He looked up at the other group, beckoning Gabriel forwards who held onto him tightly, the two if them pressing kisses to one another's lips and holding onto each other tightly. Lana looked to Ellen who rubbed her back softly, going to her daughter and gripping her tight, all of them embracing somebody in the group. She felt like such an outsider it hurt, and she knew that soon she might make good relationships with people, but for now she just edged away quietly, sitting near the doors and loading her guns, sharpening two of her knives before strapping them to her body.
The others watched her, all saying their 'I love you's and 'Goodbye's to each other before heading off in their groups, Sam, Castiel and Jo going over to her and sitting by her.
"So...what happened to your family?" Jo asked, Castiel and Sam shooting glares at her as she did, "What? I'm just curious."
"All got eaten, Jo, if that answers your question." Lana replied, standing up shakily and setting off walking, "I wanna find a music store. Can't stand a silent ride."
"I-I'm coming with you..." Sam said, "You're not going alone..."
"Whatever suits you, gigantor." Lana replied, "At least you understand subtlety."
The two set off, Castiel glaring at Jo.
"Really? Did you have to?" He asked, "Just...I get that she and Dean have formed a good bond so far, but come on, Jo...you know better than that..."
"Whatever, Cas." Jo replied, "C'mon. I wanna get us some beer."
The two set off in their own direction, voices heard clearly over walkie talkies.
"Nice to know people are changing the plan." Dean huffed over the radio, "Britannia, Roadhouse and Candyman, meet me, Mullet and Salvage by the fountain on floor one in fifteen minutes. Do not be late."
"Roger that, Zeppelin." Came Ellen's voice, Jo sighing in response with relief.
"Roadhouse Junior, Rebel, Bitch and Harmony," Dean began, "We'll meet you by the cookie kiosk on the ground floor in twenty minutes sharp. Again, do not be late."
"Roger that, baby." Castiel replied, the individual groups chuckling in response.
"Roger that, jerk." Sam said, making the others laugh again.
Sam and Lana slowly made their way around the mall, careful in their movements. Malls were deadly places at a time like this. It was bound to be crawling with croats, but luckily, a lot of the stores were locked up. They found a Virgin Megastore with it's doors locked, DVDs, games and music waiting to be taken and used.
"Listen...we're taking refuge at Bobby's place." Sam began, Lana trying to remember who was who with regards to code names.
"That Salvage?" She asked, Sam nodding in response.
"Yeah, he's extended his house and basement and it's like a huge bunker. There'll be enough room for all of us since there's Zeppelin and Rebel sharing a room and me and Candyman who are sharing a room."
"Dean and Cas...and you and Gabriel..." Lana replied, Sam nodding in response.
"There's probably fifteen bedrooms in the basement on its own. It's huge." Sam explained, "He's put in one way windows in the house, so to the croats it's like looking in a mirror, and to us its a window..."
"So you guys can see out, but they can't see in...?" She asked, Sam nodding again, "Wow...he's real prepared then, huh?"
"Yeah, we've got iron doors, iron lining around the house..." He told her, "It's like a huge metal barn."
"Wow." She breathed again, Sam remembering his point as they went to open the doors.
"Yeah...so, I was thinking...we could use some entertainment..." He began, "We've got the appliances, y'know. TV, radio...just no music, DVDs or video games..."
"Well...looks like we got some shopping to do." Lana said, looking to a kiosk that sold candy, "I need some sugar..."
She edged closer to the kiosk, pulling out her longest knife and kneeling down, looking into the blade as she moved it over the compartment where the vendor stood. There was nothing in it so she stood up, grabbing a bag of Skittles, checking the expiry date on them before opening them and pouring a few in her mouth, folding the top of the bag over and putting them in the pocket of her combats, chewing them and swallowing before winking at Sam.
"Let's kick some ass." She chuckled, pulling the doors open and closing them behind the pair, pulling out what looked like a Dictaphone and pressing a button, the sound of the Guns 'n' Roses song, You Could Be Mine blasting out through the store which she stopped quickly, loading her gun and waiting.
Sure enough five croats came running from the back room, Lana and Sam both shooting the outsiders before Lana took two out with her knives, spinning one of the knives around and stabbing the other one right through the temple, Sam gaping in response.
"God, I guess those Skittles did me good, huh?" She chuckled, Sam nodding in response as they grabbed plastic bags and shoved CDs, video games and DVDs in there, as well as t-shirts, headphones and books.
But Lana wasn't exactly being truthful with Sam. She felt so damn weak it was unbelievable, and she didn't know how she was still on her feet. They grabbed an X-Box 360, a Nintendo Wii and a Playstation 3, the two of them happy with their raid before checking their watches.
"We'd better head back," Lana said, throwing a couple of sweets in her mouth, "C'mon."
They made their way for the kiosk, finding the group already waiting for them, an animalistic roar filling the space around them.
"Shit..." Dean breathed, "Convoy, now!"
The group made for the doors, turning as Lana suddenly fell to her knees. Jo bit her lip, passing her bag to Sam and pushing him on.
"You guys do a 360 around the parking lot!" She yelled, "I'll get Lana!"
"JO!" Ellen cried, all of them running for the convoy and doing as Jo asked.
"Lana!" Jo called, going to help the tired girl up while shooting a croat that was about to tackle her, "Come on, honey."
She pulled the girl to her feet and the pair ran for the convoy, Jo stopping at her truck and throwing the door open.
"Ash!" She called, "Take her!"
Ash reached forward and pulled Lana inside, Jo throwing Lana's bags in with her, Ash pulling the door shut as Jo climbed into the front seat.
"Zeppelin to Roadhouse, is Lana okay?"
"Ash?" Ellen asked, watching as Ash cupped Lana's chin and tapped her face.
"We got some water?" He asked, Jo passing him a bottle of water, "Okay, she just needs food and drink, that's all..."
"Yeah, she's alright, Zeppelin." Ellen said, "Over and out."
"Roger that, Roadhouse." Dean replied, "Next stop, South Dakota. Over and out."
Ash helped a weary Lana drink the water and he wiped some of them sweat from her brow, looking to the mother and daughter in the front of the truck.
"She's feverish..." He said, "Really weak..."
"Feverish?" Ellen asked, Ash nodding in response.
"Must be from all that time walking in the sun..." He said, "She's not eaten for a week and a half...and that was her first drink in three days..."
"Shit." Jo breathed, picking up the radio, "Okay, we're gonna have to take a rest stop...Lana's sick, but not Croatoan sick. Kinda...too-much-sun sick..."
"Ah, Christ..." Came Dean's reply, "We got about five hours to get to Bobby's, three if we speed up. Can she cope that long, y'think?"
"Maybe..." Jo replied, "We're really gonna have to step on it, though...you think it's sunstroke or something?"
"She shivering?" Came Bobby's voice, Ash giving the thumbs up.
"Sweating, shivering and she's quite faint..." Jo replied, "We've given her water and Mom's getting her some crackers to eat..."
"Just let her sleep." Dean replied, "It'll be better when we reach Bobby's."
"Okay." Jo replied, "Over and out."
Ellen passed Ash the crackers, the others mindful to keep an eye on Lana as the convoy sped towards Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
-TBC-
Hope you enjoyed!
Thanks for reading so far!
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