Oh my god! I'm so embarrassed, guys! I am so, so sorry! I publish the wrong story on here for the longest time! I don't know why anyone kept reading after this! I promise it won't happen again!
I hope you guys will forgive me! Again, I am so sorry and so embarrassed! And if you're just coming to this chapter, just keep reading and forget this ever happened.
So, I hope you enjoy the real story! And if you do, please, please, please review! I'd really appreciate it! Thanks! :D
Dean couldn't tell how much time had passed since he had hitched a ride from the skeletal ferryman. In fact, his internal clock seemed to be completely broken, as he apparently could no longer tell the difference between five minutes and an hour. Or, to better put it, he did not believe his mind when the ferryman's boat had arrived on shore not even three minutes later.
The shore he arrived at was the strangest place that he had ever seen. It sent shivers down his spine, and, for a moment, he almost asked the ferryman to turn back. The sand was an inky black and the sky was a mixture of red, green, and grey that housed rolling waves of mighty clouds that held small flashes of lightning every second or so. The leaves of the trees that littered the far away distance were dark blue and the flowers, if you could call them that, that hung from them looked like shriveled venus fly traps. Dean squinted his eyes at the little village that sat on the shore, he could tell there was something off about it. He just couldn't put a finger on it, though.
The side of the skeletal ferryman's boat hit the side of the creaky, old port. However, Dean couldn't decide what he wanted to do more, stay with the ferryman or go on that peculiar island. Neither one sounded quite so enjoyable, however. Creepy as he was, though, the ferryman seemed much more harmless than anything else that might be waiting for him on the island.
But, Sam and Cas were on that island, and if saving his lost brothers meant stepping foot on some creepy-ass island, then so be it.
So, Dean stood from his seat on the boat and made his way onto the port, still hugging his arms around his damp frame. The splintery, wooden planks of the port stung the hunter's bare feet as he made his way across it and to the little village.
Dean turned his head around to look back at the ferryman's boat, but when he did so, he was surprised to see that the ferryman and his long boat were gone without a trace. The hunter stopped and just stared out in confusion at the spot where the skeleton should be, eyes darting around hoping to see at least ripples from where the boat had departed.
But the ferryman was gone as quick as he had appeared.
Shaking his head, Dean then turned back around and continued making his way down the port. The little village looked very poor and run down with its falling apart buildings with straw rooves. Other than that, however, the village seemed to be normal, nothing too special about it. The real peculiar thing about it, though, was when the people started to come out of their homes.
A door to one of the misshapen houses suddenly opened with a loud screech. The person who came out, however, was a man. Not just any man, though, for this man…was three feet tall and had pointed ears.
There was nothing quite that odd about the man, besides for the fact that he had warts covering his face, fingers, and toes, his ears extended far out from his head which was the largest part of his body. Everything about the man's face was large, his nose, lips, narrowed eyes, and even just his entire skull. Alongside that, his hands and feet were oversized and covered in hair. If Dean didn't know any better, this small man looked exactly like some sort of dwarf or troll.
The troll turned towards Dean, who jumped slightly at the sight of such a small person, and gasped suddenly. The troll just stared at the hunter for a while before he asked in a hesitant voice, "Are you a human?"
Dean blinked at the little elf before replying just as hesitantly, "Uh…yes?"
The dwarf straightened up a little bit and looked around before asking, "What are you doing here?"
Dean's eyes darted around for a second or two before landing back on the pointy eared man. "I'm looking for my brother and friend."
The elf didn't reply for a second before tilting his head. "Would they be as tall as you are?"
"Um… Kinda, my brother's a little taller and my friend is a little shorter than me, I guess," Dean replied as he shifted from foot to foot, still a little weirded out by the fact that he was talking to an elf.
The troll pursed his lips for a second before asking again, "Did one have long, brown hair and the other have a tan overcoat?"
Dean's eyes widened and he took a step forward, excited that the little troll before him had seen his brothers. "You've seen them!? Where!? Where are they!? Are they-?"
The dwarf suddenly backed up from the hunter approaching him and shook his head as he snapped, "I haven't seen them!"
Dean stopped. "What? Of course you have! You just described them!"
The man shook his head. "No, I just heard about them from my brother-in-law. He works as a lumberjack on the edge of town," The little man pointed down the street. "They had come by his cabin pleading for food."
Dean's eyes widened in shock and fear. They were pleading for food? That must mean that they're hurt or something! His head shot up to look down the street. He had to hurry! They were in danger!
After Dean turned to the troll one last time to say a quick 'thank you', he began racing down the road, slipping a few times on the wet mud. He had to get to them before something else happened to them! He would kill himself if they were hurt.
Sam could barely breathe anymore and his heart felt like it was going to explode out of his chest as he ran through the forest. His feet ached as they ripped and tore on the sharp rocks and twigs of the forest floor. His hands scrapped against the trees that darted past him.
He couldn't quite remember what he was running from, all he knew was that he had to get away from something. This forest, maybe? The wisps of light? The voices in the distance?
Himself?
Suddenly, Sam tripped on an uncovered root and the young hunter found himself falling down a hill, the terrain scrapping and tearing at his skin and clothes. Finally, after tumbling down rocks and roots, Sam found himself lying on hard and pointy pebbles.
The young man groaned in pain. Everything hurt. His skin was torn from tripping and falling, especially from rolling down the hill, and his head still slightly throbbed from the horrid sticks that were protruding from his bleeding scalp. He had no idea how he was still alive, or at least still conscious. After all, who could possibly be alive after getting branches jammed into their brain?
Sam lifted his head to see rushing water that ran through a small ditch in the rocks to form a small riverbed not too far away from him. Another groan escaped from his lips that were curled up in a painful grimace. With much difficulty, the young hunter then started to drag himself over to the small creek.
More groans escaped from his mouth as the pebbles on the river rubbed against his bleeding skin that had been ripped open from the wounds covering his body as Sam made his way over to the water. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the young hunter found himself right in front of the stream.
He let a sigh of relief leave his mouth as he dipped his hand into the river and brought it up to his lips. Sam knew how dangerous drinking unfiltered water could be, but at the moment, he didn't care one bit. He just needed water so badly.
Sam slurped up the beautiful, crisp water, and another sigh found its way out of his mouth. It was the most spectacular water that he had ever drank in his entire life. However, it was most likely because of how incredibly thirsty he was. There didn't seem to be anything more amazing than just plain water at the moment. So, Sam found himself shoveling the clear liquid into his mouth, slurping it up in desperation, not even caring about the embarrassing grunts and groans of satisfaction escaped his lips.
After he had gotten his fill of water, Sam let his hand come down in front of him. He let deep breaths come out as he absorbed the knowledge that he was safe, for at least the time being. He wasn't exactly sure what he thought he had to run from, though he was pretty sure it had to do with the wisps of light that had danced around the forest when he had woken up. But, he wasn't going to worry about that for now. Right now, he was just going to think about himself and what to do next.
Sam suddenly remembered about the dried blood that was clinging to his forehead and eyebrows. He supposed he could – and should clean that off. And he should also probably think about how to safely remove the two sticks that were jammed into his head.
The young hunter dragged himself closer to the water until he could see a reflection of himself. It wasn't totally clear, as it was moving water, but there was at least a partial image. Enough for him to see the blood and the….
Sam's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. His hand slowly started to raise up to the two objects sticking out of his head. Suddenly, he couldn't help himself by slipping out two words as he stared at the objects. "The hell?"
Sam's eyes darted across the rippling reflection of himself, for the two objects that were protruding from his scalp were not sticks. No, and Sam couldn't decide if he was relieved or horrified when he found that, resting atop his head, were two, large, horrifying antlers.
Once Sam's brain had registered what exactly was protruding from his scalp, a sudden yelp escaped from his mouth and, despite all the pain, his body shot up into a standing position. But, despite the fear and shock building up inside of him, Sam just kept staring at the two impressive antlers that were mounted on his head.
After a while of just staring at the antlers, Sam finally took a step forward and kneeled down in front of the water. He then began moving his head in different ways in order to examine the heavy weights on his head. His hand came up to one of them and began to trace their way along where the antlers were sprouting from his scalp.
"The hell?" Sam repeated as he found that they were, in fact, growing from his head.
His hands then fell down to his lap and he continued to stare at himself. For quite some time he just sat there and stared into his reflection, examining the newly grown antlers before his head suddenly dropped into his hands.
The young hunter began to shake as he whispered to himself, "No, no… This is just a dream…just a dream… People don't grow antlers… It's just not possible…! You're just being crazy, Sam… Just being…"
Sam couldn't finish his sentence as he, uncontrollably, broke into strangled sobs. He couldn't say exactly why he was crying, for there were many reasons. He was hungry, he was hurting everywhere, there were goddamn antlers growing from his head… The biggest reason, however, was the fact that he was dealing with it all alone.
Why are you crying, Cernunnos?
Sam's sobs suddenly stopped as he froze and his body straightened up.
Did we do something wrong?
Sam lifted his head to see, from the trees across the creek, the same dancing wisps of light from before emerge.
But we did everything for you, did we not?
Sam sniffled as the lights grew closer.
We offered you a tree, and you ate from it. We gave you a river, and you drank from it. We even gave you back your torc.
Sam's eyebrows furrowed as he suddenly noticed a metal ring that was wrapped around his neck. A hand flew up to it, feeling all around the bronze 'torc'. The two, short ends of it came off from his neck in the front to trail along his collarbone. It was beautifully decorated, that was for sure. How had he not noticed it before? He must've been so preoccupied on everything else.
What more do you seek, Cernunnos?
Sam's eyes flicked back up to the dancing lights in front of him. They were the ones talking, right? But who were they? And why did they keep calling him Cernunnos?
"Who are you?" the young hunter asked.
There was a small gasp that came from the lights as they moved back suddenly. Who are we? Cernunnos, do you really not remember?
Sam blinked a few times in confusion. "Yeah, and why do you keep calling me 'Cernunnos'?"
One of the lights seemed to turn to one of its 'friends'. That must be why Cernunnos left in the first place! The light then turned back to Sam. Is that why you left us, Cernunnos?
"Okay, look," Sam began in an exasperated voice. He was really done with these freaky lights pestering him all the time. "I have no idea what you're talking about and I'm not 'Cernunnos'!"
The light then moved closer to the young man. No, you're just confused, Cernunnos!
"No, you're confused!" Sam snapped as he waved a hand in front of it, in hopes of shooing it away, which worked slightly as it backed away just a little bit. "You've got the wrong guy!" He then stood up and began to walk away from the three lights. "Now leave me alone!"
No, wait, Cernunnos!
Suddenly, one of the lights flew in front of Sam's path, making him stop and glare at it. He was shocked, however, to find that it now had a form to it. It had a large, round head and a swaying dress that still looked much like a cloud of light, but still had no apparent form besides exactly that. It had two small eyes and a delicate mouth with the dress being its only body with no arms and no legs, and that tiny person – if it was even a person at all – seemed to be made up primarily of bright, yellow light.
You ate from our tree that we set out for you, Cernunnos! It was meant for you!
Another light came into his view, with the same form except for the fact that it had two little arms sprouting from its sides.
Only Cernunnos can eat from the tree.
Sam turned around, only for the two lights to follow him and join the third that had been behind him. The third light, again, looked exactly like the second except it had two little feet sprouting from its dress.
And when he does, he comes back to us.
Sam's eyebrows knit together. "Okay, look, guys. Just because I ate from your tree does not mean I'm this 'Cernunnos' guy."
Oh, yes it does! The first cheered with a nod of its head.
We know so! The second declared with a wave of its arms.
Yes, we know! The third giggled with a shake of its legs.
Sam's eyes darted along the three of the wisps. "How?"
The second wisp's stout arms reached up to where its little mouth should be and giggled into its hands. Because they grew back!
The first wisp's round face nodded like a bobble-head. Yes, they had fallen off before!
The third wisp's little legs kicked around as it reached one arm up and pointed at Sam's head. But once you ate the fruit we gave you, they grew back!
Sam's eyes widened as he followed the third wisp's finger. The young hunter's hand reached up hesitantly and rested near his newly grown antlers. "You guys," His fingers felt the rough material of the horrible antlers. "What did you do to me?"
The second wisp giggled into its hands again. We brought you back!
The first wisp nodded its giant head. It's been so lonely without you!
The third wisp waved its little arms next to its sides in excitement. And now that you're back…
A smile graced the wisps' features as they all said in unison, …We'll never let you go!
