^^Thank you for reading and sticking with me guys! Sorry about the waiting, as usual. I really should learn to not be lazy. My chapters have been ready to be downloaded but I've been too lazy to download them onto my other computer. Damn me. Anyways, enjoy!
P.S. reviews are always appreciated and thank you for any you've given me so far. Especially the people who reviewed me for my last chapter! Thank you so much for all the positive motivation! You are my inspiration! Well, you guys and Jensen Ackles.
Chapter 3
"He that fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster."
Friedrich Nietzche
=3
"Dean?" Sam called quietly through the silence in coating the Impala. All he got in answer was a soft grunt. His brother's head was presently resting against the passenger side window, still buried in his coat, his feet pulled up onto the seat next to him. That last thing concerned him a bit because Dean hated shoes on his leather seats.
His brother looked up, catching Sam starring at his feet. "Shouldn't you be paying attention to the road?" He croaked with a smirk, his face white with pain. Sam's gaze turned somewhat hesitantly back towards the road. Dean's right foot slipped off the seat and he instantly felt nails scratch over the seam in his jeans, catching on the heel of his boot before he lifted it back up. Surely his baby would forgive him, just this once. I'll give you a nice wax after this all over. Maybe even buy a badass air freshener.
Sam grunted and his hands tightened on the steering wheel as he watched Dean out of the corner of his eye. They had to find a way out of this fast. It was time for a call to Bobby.
=3
The second he got inside the motel, Dean threw on all the lights then made a straight bee line for the bathroom while his brother pulled out his cell phone. He locked the door behind him, knowing Sam would want a look at his neck but wanting a couple of minutes to look at it himself. Consider the damage before his brother got a good look and flipped his shit.
"Damn my life," was the first thing that came out of his mouth when he saw his reflection in the mirror. This was going to put a damper on his good looks. His face was pale and drawn out, black circles painted under his eyes. His paleness seemed to illuminate the long, slender rings of deep purple went all around his neck. Pinpricks of blood where the thing's curved claws had broken the skin ran thin rivulets of red to collect at the collar of his button down.
It was nasty and his face scrunched into a picture of pure displeasure.
His original plan was to wait until Sam forced him to come out, but what sounded like a symphony of hungry whines started up on the other side of the shower curtain and he figured why not save his brother the trouble. So, putting on his best poker face, he sauntered out of the bathroom.
He smirked when Sam nearly dropped his cell at the sight of his neck. Yep, no way was he getting any good attention from the ladies until the bruising cleared up; unless he made up some heroic story involving rescuing children from a bus or something. Truthfully he was actually ashamed to admit he'd already considered this notion in the car.
"I'm going to have to let you go Bobby. Yeah, thanks. I'll keep looking on my end too." Sam snapped his phone closed and took Dean's arm leading him to sit on the bed.
"I'm not incapable of walking, Sam." Dean growled, voice cracking as he shoved his brother's hand away, though it didn't seem to deter him any. Little brother had the grip of a mechanical claw when he entered mother hen mode and a stubborn streak of determination.
"Dean, your neck-" Sam cut himself off with a frustrated groan as manhandled his brother back onto the bed before going to grab his laptop from the small table in the corner. "Shut up." He huffed when Dean sent him a look as he sat himself beside his brother on the bed, back propped up against the headrest and computer in his lap.
Dean kept his glaring up for another minute, the only noise being Sam's fingers on the keyboard. He considered shoving him off the bed but he didn't actually want him to leave. So, he simply gave in, deciding he'd send a half-hearted glare every now and again to show his displeasure at being coddled. "Fine," He mumbled, shrugging to cover his gratefulness. Snagging the remote for the television, Dean got comfortable beside Sam, shoulders leaning against each other. Why the hell not?
=3
Something tickled his ear from behind the edge of his pillow, and he subtly shifted more towards Sam. Dirty little bastards couldn't go five minutes without pestering him. Some old horror movie was playing on the TV but he couldn't focus on it. Sam was passed out next to him, laptop on the table by the window, arms crossed across his chest, and his neck bent at an awkward angle. Someone was going to be sore in the morning. Another shift and he winced at the pain in his own neck. Well, at least they'd be sore together he thought with a small smirk.
He starred stoically at the television for a few more minutes, his eyes shifting back and forth between it and his brother. Sam would bitch his ears bloody when he woke up if Dean didn't wake him now. Putting out a hand, Dean went to touch his brother's shoulder when he felt the pit of his stomach drop out.
"Dean, darling. Come outside." Without his permission, a tremble went through his whole body like a bolt of lightning. Oh, hell no. Two attempts in one day? There had to be some Japanese rule against that.
To his horror, he found his tense frame respond, his legs dropping to the floor as he sat up. No. His gnashed his teeth together, the only visible sign of Dean fighting the call imploring him to leave his hotel room. All at once, the shadows scuttled from their asylums like a colony of fire ants, eyes of red animated with ecstasy as they went to his side. No. The caresses they distributed were no longer tender, but harsh, the bite of their nails leaving paths of gore in their wake.
He stood. Dean made a dismayed sound in the back of his throat as the beings piloted him away from his bed and he trailed unwillingly, feet scrapping along behind. No, I won't go. He fought harder, the muscles in his body straining as his eyes squeezed shut. He disregarded the creatures as they yapped at his back, exasperated by his resistance.
Something smooth and cold fitted into his palm and his eyes opened in disbelief. The doorknob. All that effort and they'd still managed to get him to the door? He'd scarcely slowed them down in their task. Sammy. The door swung open.
=3
In his dreamscape he was re-experiencing the sight of his brother wheezing on the bathroom floor of the restaurant as unexplained, deep bruising appeared around his esophagus. Dean's eyes were glazed over in pain and bewilderment as his hands clasped and released in the air, rivulets of blood congregating at the collar of his jacket to vanish underneath and meet once again at the band of his t-shirt.
A sense of helplessness washed over him again just as it had earlier that day. How could he help his brother fight something he couldn't see?
This time, instead of Sam rushing to the rescue, he found himself unable to move. And Dean's struggling slowly came to a standstill. His knees buckled and a final whimper of pain he collapsed face first onto the bathroom floor. Move. You have to move. His brother didn't seem to be breathing anymore he noticed, his heart stuttering in fear.
Then, without warning, something took a huge bite-
He came awake to an awful pain in his neck. Wincing, he reached a hand up to rub at the kink, turning to check on his brother. Who wasn't there? "Dean?" He took a glance towards the bathroom, but the door was wide open. Panic time. "Dean!" He shot up as fast as he could, his body protesting after his nap.
Where was?-there, relief flooded him when his eyes found his brother with his back turned to him, facing the open door leading out to the parking lot. "Dean, you shouldn't go outside alone right now. If you need something from the car, I'll go get it." His brother didn't move. "Dean, really just-"It was then he noticed the faint tremors running through his brother's frame, knuckles white and clenched on the doorknob. He noticed the tears in his clothing and speckles of blood next. Surprising, really, he probably should have seen that part first. There was one conclusion as to why Dean looked this way and was currently occupying their temporary doorstep and it was not good.
Dean took a slow step outside of the hotel, a low sound answering the action and Sam knew from experience it was his brother growling in frustration. Shit. He was at Dean's side in a blink of an eye, with no recollection of moving, almost as if he had teleported himself there. His hand grasped a trembling elbow just as his brother went to take another step out into the humid night, intending to drag him inside.
Something moved out of the corner of his eye, off to his right, and he froze, hand going to his handgun before remembering he'd left it sitting on the table by his laptop. Stupid. Who knew if a gun would work anyways, he hadn't found nearly enough information yet. A stray strand of hair shifted, something scrapping over the lobe of his ear, almost in a caress. Or a warning, a wet sounding hiss following in the touches' wake. He wanted to turn and look, the urge almost overwhelming but he would be leaving his brother open from the front. Get him inside. The hissing was getting angrier and he took a chance.
He swung away from the noise, coming around in front of Dean and seeing his face for the first time since he'd waken up, the emotion in his eyes almost freezing him again. He shoved his brother backwards just as something large swiped at their sides, the edge of something sharp tickling their ribs as they fell back. They hit the hotel room floor hard, Sam still with his arms protectively around Dean, and he looked back to catch a glimpse of what they were up against.
All he saw was a fleeting shadow, the gluttonous wails echoing seemingly from outside their door.
A/N: Again, I apologize for not having this in sooner. Everyone probably thinks I've given up on the story by now huh? I do not blame you! If it seems rushed or I've made a grievous mistake, please forgive me and thank you for all of you who read.