A cool, brisk gust of wind awoke Dean from his stupor. The first thing he saw when his vision cleared were trees all around him. He was in a woods somewhere, but couldn't tell much more in the darkness of the night. He listened closely and could hear a stream running somewhere to the west of him. The only other sound he could hear was the rustling of bushes as critters explored in the dark.
When his disorientation completely went away, he realized he wasn't touching the ground. Dean panicked a little and tried to move. He looked down only to find a rope tied around his arms and torso, holding him prisoner against a tree. Dean felt the bark scrape his back as he tried to escape. He groaned as he felt a nasty headache coming on. What the hell had he gotten himself into? Dad was going to kill him.
Sam. Oh God, where was Sam? Dean quickly scanned the area in front of him looking for any signs of him. He swore. He couldn't see anything in the damn dark. Dean felt physically sick to his stomach. His brother was either taken by the shrtiga like he had, or he was out there on his own. Either way Dean had failed him. He prayed Dad had found Sam. If anything had happened to him, especially on Dean's watch…
The hag appeared before Dean again. She was just as ugly as the last time he'd seen her. He shuddered, feeling cold chills run up and down his spine. This was one scary bitch. She literally looked like the typical scary witch out of every horror movie, complete with the moles and rotten teeth. Dean gagged as her rotten breath filled his nostrils.
"I'm not usually picky on the ladies, but sweetheart, you are fugly," Dean told the hag, showing no fear. He had to see if she understood him.
The hag let out an ear-piercing scream and clawed Dean across the face with her sharp nails. Dean grunted as he felt the hot streaks of blood run down his face. Yep. The shrtiga definitely understood him.
"Son of bitch!" Dean swore after she disappeared again.
"Don't talk, you'll piss it off," a voice to his right said.
If Dean wasn't tied to a tree, he would've jumped a mile. "Who's out there?" Dean asked, thinking he'd been alone this whole time.
"Dustin Andrews," the voice answered, proving that Dean wasn't crazy.
Dean recognized that name. It was the kid that had come across the police scanner; the kid his father had went to search for. "Damn it," Dean swore again. "My dad was supposed to be saving your ass."
"What're you talking about?"
"Nothing," Dean responded, knowing the kid would have no clue what he was talking about. "Where are the others?"
"I've only seen one other guy," Dustin said, his voice cracking. "It fed on the both of us yesterday, and it killed him. That bitch took his body from the tree you're tied to into the woods somewhere. It fed on me again when I came back and I passed out.
Dean swore. The others must be dead then. Dean didn't have time to respond because the hag returned then, letting out a howling shriek to let her presence be known. Instead of going up to Dean, the creature went to Dustin. Dustin screamed as the creature hit him like she had Dean. Dean winced, but otherwise kept quiet. As much as he wanted to help, he wasn't any good to Dustin dead. He had to play this smart, carefully.
Suddenly, the creature was upon Dean. Dean didn't have time to react before the shrtiga put her hand on Dean's forehead. The bitch opened her mouth, and an unseen force caused Dean to open his too.
An odd feeling entered Dean's body, just like the last time only stronger. He felt his body weakening by the second. He tried to fight, but the rope constricted him from moving. All he could see was the shrtiga's shiny black eyes illuminated by a bright white light in between them. it registered to Dean that she was taking his life-force, but he couldn't do anything to stop it. if he listened closely, he could faintly hear Dustin yelling. Shut up, kid, Dean wanted to say. Soon, his whole body felt like jello and he no longer even had the energy to fight, or even think really. He knew something wasn't right. She was killing him.
"Dean?" he heard Dustin say quietly. Dean was starting to get this odd buzzing in his ears. His vision was beginning to cloud. A tight pain in his chest caused him to moan. He wasn't sure what dying felt like, but he was betting this was close.
"St…stop,"Dean groaned, his eyelids starting to droop against his will. He could physically feel his heartbeat slowing as the pain in his chest only worsened. Dean knew now that he was dying.
Just as Dean closed his eyes, he heard someone shout. His eyes remained shut, but he could hear some type of fight. Dean felt an odd heat radiate over his body and then silence. Dean tried to open his eyes, but couldn't. He didn't know what was wrong with him.
"Dean!" he heard a voice gasp. He recognized it as his father's. Maybe it was the buzzing messing with his hearing, but Dean swore his father sounded terrified. "Dean, hang on!"
He tried as hard as he could to reply, but Dean just couldn't. The shrtiga had taken too much energy from him.
Dean could feel his father cutting the rope tying him to the tree. The next thing he knew, Dean was slumped over in his father's arms, unable to hold himself up. He was completely limp as John was forced to carry the 180-pounds of his son's body weight.
"I got you, Dean. it's okay," his dad said to him. He had never heard his father be so gentle towards him. Dean must be in worse shape than he had thought.
John set Dean down on the grass. Dean felt his head being propped up in John's lap and felt like such a baby. A small moan escaped his throat as he felt the pain from his chest travel all the way down his body. He literally felt like his heart was going to explode.
His father shook him lightly, trying to get him to stir. That shrtiga took everything out of Dean. He was literally paralyzed. All he wanted to do was say something to his dad, anything, just to let him know that everything was okay, that he was fine, but nothing would happen no matter how hard he tried.
Dean felt two cold fingers on the side of his neck and then a sigh of relief from his father. He had thought he was dead. "Okay hang on, kiddo," Dean heard him say. He heard his father shuffling around and then the sounds of numbers being punched into his phone. "Bobby…hey…Dean's hurt, damn shrtiga took his life-force. I can't get him to open his eyes, Bobby. His pulse is slow. Bobby, he's not moving, he's nearly…" John didn't finish. He sounded choked up. "What do I do?" he finally finished.
"Yeah…" John continued. "Okay. Okay, yeah I'll meet you…thanks Bobby."
All Dean could do was listen. He listened to his father rummage around some more until he finally spoke again. "Hey Ace, this is going to hurt okay?"
Before Dean knew what was happening he heard the shock of a taser turn on and then then it fired. Dean's eyes flew open as the electricity jolted through his body. He wished his father had never gotten that stupid thing to deal with rawheads. He screamed as waves of electricity flew through him, seeming to give his body a sort of restart. He could feel everything now.
"You with me Dean?" John asked after Dean rode the lightening for the longest 5 seconds of his life. Dean looked up at his father and nodded. He tried to respond to him, but coughed up a lung instead. He may be mobile for now, but he still felt like crap. He felt like he'd been stabbed in the chest over and over. He'd never felt anything like it.
"Easy, Ace," his father said gently as he knelt beside him. He wrapped an arm around Dean's waist and hoisted him up, Dean grimacing the whole way.
"Dhhd…" Dean said, his voice raspy. He'd rather not talk, but he had to know. "Shhmy?"
"Sammy's okay, dude. Caleb came and picked him up while I was looking for you."
Caleb? Caleb lived like six hours from here. "How-?"
"One day," his father answered as if he could read his mind. "You've been missing one day. Longest day of my life," Dean heard John mutter under his breath.
"Dhhd…I'sorry…" Dean mumbled. He'd apologize more later, but that was all he could muster up right now.
"Hey dude, don't apologize," John told him as they reached the outskirts of the woodline. He could see the Impala in the distance and smiled. His trip to Hell was over. "Just don't disappear on me again alright?"
Dean didn't say anything and John helped lower him into the front seat. John literally had to lift his legs in for him. Dean felt like such a wimp. He couldn't believe he let a shtriga get the jump on him. He would never forgive himself for this. Sammy could've gotten hurt, and it would've been on his watch. Nothing would ever make that better.
"Dustin…" Dean coughed. "Tied to tree.."
"I know. I'm going back for him right now, okay?" John told him. "You just sit tight."
Dean breathed a laugh. "Not goin..anywhere."
John huffed. "Smartass," he said and then ran off.
It wasn't long before Dean couldn't keep his eyes open any longer and drifted to sleep.
