Thanks to rascalflattsgurl43 for the beta.
Warnings and disclaimers: see chapter one.
Chapter 4 Slippery slopes ahead
Instead of getting out of the car, Dean slipped into the back before Sam could comment any further giving Sam room to slip into the driver's seat. Once Sam was settled, Dean slipped into his newly vacated spot. Sam pulled out onto the road and slowly built up speed as Dean settled himself against the window. He took the opportunity to take some painkillers from the glove box and swallowed some down with a bottle of water Sam had left wedged between his seat and the door. Dean started yawning and blinking more as soon as he was settled. It was one of the reasons had offered to drive. The sound of a car engine always made him sleepy if he wasn't concentrating on driving. The only thing stopping him falling asleep was how fast the wiper blades were going to try to keep up with the falling water and his responsibility to Sam.
Sam was only driving for a few minutes when he had to turn off the main road to a thinner but still asphalt road towards the town where Bobby was. A sign posted soon after they turned down the road indicated they had twelve miles to go. The sides of the road were banked up dirt on both sides that had quickly turned into mud sliding down and coating the road. The spray was thick and Sam had to fight the wheel to keep the car on the road as well as trying to see through the thick falling rain.
"You okay Sammy?" Dean asked softly.
"Yeah Dean. Just need to keep it on the road."
Dean was quiet letting his brother concentrate. They rounded a corner and saw twin signs that said 'watch for mudslides.' Dean thought it was pretty apt since the bank on his side was about twenty feet high and the mud was sluicing down the bank onto the road like thick paint.
"I'll keep watch on this side Sammy but its best you drive in the middle."
"The middle of the road? At night ? In the rain? Are you insane?"
"Nice rhyme there Sammy. Probably but anyone coming will have their headlights on and how many have we seen tonight?"
"No one. Just keep an eye out."
Dean leaned forward grabbing the dashboard as Sam dodged a large tree limb on the road.
"Good work Sammy. Watch that pile of mud on the right."
Sam swerved and they spent the next twenty minutes dodging tree branches and mud piles on the road that was worse condition wise than the sandy roads Dean had been driving. Sam noticed the edges of the road had crumbled away due to the large amount of water flowing down in torrents from the high mud banks and drove much slower. The road itself was looking browner and browner with mud the further they went. An icy shiver lodged in his belly as he dodged a washed out section of right bank that narrowed the road to one way for a hundred yards.
Sam took the right bend in the road and moved more to the right just in case there was a car coming the other way but the wheel was shoved left by Dean with a yell but it was too late. As if in slow motion a tree came down on the bonnet of the car followed by a rush of sloppy mud.
"Shit!" They yelled as one as the car was suddenly weighted down on the right by a vast wall of branches and mud until it tipped up and the roof hit the wall of mud with a groan as the car stalled. There was the crash of glass and Sam threw his arms up as the windshield broke into a million pieces and branches came through. Sam heard Dean groan with pain and called to him getting no response as the leafy branches took over the compartment giving him little room to move. The only sound for the next minute was mud falling, branches softly snapping and the tick of the engine as it cooled in the rain.
Sam moved slowly undoing his seatbelt being thankful he had it on. The headlights were still on and pointed up to the sky showing the angle of the fast falling rain. Rain was coming in the front as Sam battled not to fall on Dean who he couldn't see due to tree branches.
"Dean!" Sam yelled as he slid carefully down.
He could feel something running down his face and knew by the stinging feeling on the left of his face he had a nice cut from banging his head on the doorjamb when the car had flipped up. He called to Dean a few times but Dean didn't answer.
Sam had to push past branches bigger than his arm to finally find the top of Dean's head sticking out of the pile of mud and branches. He could dimly see plenty of branches that had punched through the thin side of the door. Sam pushed through the mud and placed two fingers on Dean's neck. He breathed a sigh of relief at the strong pulse and his vision swam as he struggled to stay upright. Sam had to push branches away snapping them to get them clear of Dean's face. His vision was starting to darken suddenly as he dug down to clear Dean's face.
His arm in its cast wasn't helping him dig but he had it on long enough to have started working around it which he gradually started doing as his fingers numbed in the cold mud. Water falling through the windshield actually helped Sam clear Dean's pale face. Sam hands were getting harder to control and he felt himself sliding down into darkness despite his best efforts not to. He managed to lean to the side away from Dean before he to slumped down into unconsciousness.
TBC
