Disclaimer: I still don't own Supernatural or its characters. I and am not making any money on this…I'm just having fun!
Night Shades
Chapter 4 – Cabin Fever
Dean quickly checked the area, but there didn't appear to be anyone near. He saw a way to climb down, but wasn't sure how he would get Sam back up the cliff. Putting his gun in the waist band of his jeans and adjusting his back pack he slowly began to climb down towards Sam. "Hold on Sam, I'm coming!"
Sam groaned as awareness came back to him. He tried to move, but was immediately hit by pain. He opened his eyes and realized that somehow he had landed in the middle of a large group of bramble bushes. The sharp thorns on the bushes were curved backward; digging and tearing into the skin on Sam's body whenever he moved. His clothing was no barrier to the thorns as he gasped in pain. If he tried to roll, he would just do more damage. He gingerly felt his head and came away with blood as well. Just great, he managed to also hit his head. Dean was never going to let him live this one down…he should have stayed closer to Dean instead of taking the time to check out the ravine. "Well at least now I got a closer look at what was down here." Sam said softly as he heard a sound off to his right. Sam tensed and biting back on the pain from the movement, he reached into his jean pocket to pull out his knife. He wasn't going to just lay here and let the shape shifter do more damage.
"Whoa there Sam…it's just me. Put the knife away!" Dean had managed to get to the floor of the ravine and was making his way through the thick underbrush to his brother. "What part of stay close don't you understand Sam…I turned around and you were gone." Dean saw the pain in Sam's face and softened his tone. "Looks like you got yourself in a bit of a mess there Sammy…try not to move." Dean winced as he saw the thorns digging into his brother's flesh.
Sam closed his eyes, he knew he deserved the rebuke in fact, he deserved much worse because he hadn't been watching his brother's back. He was just glad it was him that got hurt. Sam sighed and bit down on his lip as the thorns continued to dig into his skin. A moment later he felt Dean's hand on his arm and opened his eyes to only see concern in his brother's face. "It's going to be ok Sam" Dean said softly quickly noticing the blood trailing down the side of Sam's face and the slightly unfocused gaze of his brother looking up at him. "How are you doing…you feeling ok there little brother?"
"I think so…but I'd watch that first step if I were you." Sam said as he once again tried to get up only to fall back and cause the thorns to tear deeper into his back. Sam couldn't stop the cry of pain that escaped his lips as he closed his eyes again.
Dean couldn't see an easy way to get Sam out other than to simply pull him free. "Sam, can you hear me?"
Sam opened his eyes. "Yes Dean…"
"Ok, I'm going to take your hands and pull you up; you need to shove up when I pull. I know it might hurt a bit, but I can't straight lift you out of there and it will take too long to cut you free."
Sam nodded he understood and braced for the painful extraction. He locked his hands on Dean's wrists and pushed up with his legs as Dean pulled. Unfortunately, Sam pushed a bit hard with his legs and ended up falling on top of Dean as they both landed on the floor of the ravine. "Really Sam…people are going to start to talk if you don't get off me." Dean managed as he tried to catch the breath that was knocked out of him when Sam landed on him.
Sam grunted and rolled to the side, giving Dean a chance to get on his knees and take a closer look at his brother. "Jeez Dude, you look like you were attacked by a paper shredder!" Sam's shirt and jeans were torn and shredded in numerous places. Dean could imagine the cuts underneath from the large thorns. Sam's face wasn't much better as the blood from the cuts ran into the blood from the gash on the side of his head. "Can you tell, is anything broken?"
Sam moved his arms and legs and shook his head. "No, but I'm sure I'll have a few more bruises tomorrow. Help me up Dean. We need to get out of here…the shape shifter is close by…the bastard knocked me off the cliff."
"Don't worry Sam…I think it ran off when it heard me coming. Hold still while I try to clean this cut out a bit." Dean quickly used the water from his supply to clean Sam's face. "Well the good news is you don't need stitches…how is your head feeling?"
"Like I hit it with a rock…come on Dude, let's just get out of here." Sam couldn't explain it, but he felt like they needed to get somewhere safe.
"Ok, but you lean on me Sam…I don't need you falling back down the cliff. We can stop at the cabin and I can check those scratches. We don't need you getting an infection now." Dean helped Sam to his feet and watched as Sam swayed. He placed his brother's arm over his shoulders and moved to an area of the ravine wall that would be easiest for them to climb up. "Are you up for this?" Dean asked
"No problem." Sam said as he slowly began to climb, wincing as the cuts and bruises reminded him that a thorn bush was definitely not the best choice for breaking a fall. His head was pounding by the time he got within reach of the top. Dean had been steadily climbing behind Sam, steadying him when he stumbled. Sam knew that if he fell, Dean would fall with him, so he focused and reached to pull himself up.
Dean could tell that Sam was nearing the end of his endurance. He could feel the muscles trembling in his brother's body as he once again reached to steady him. "That's it Sam…just a few more inches…" Dean sighed with relief as he pushed Sam up over the edge. As Dean cleared the top, he saw Sam lying on his back, his arm over his eyes. Concerned about a possible concussion, Dean moved over and gently moved Sam's arm. His brother opened his eyes and swallowed. "Sorry Dean…should have had your back."
Dean started to tell Sam once again it wasn't his fault…but he knew that nothing he could say would take the guilt away. Instead he decided on a new tactic. "It's ok Sam…just do better next time…now can we get you out of here? 'Cause I gotta tell you, I would rather not spend the night in a place called 'Shades of Death'"
An hour later Dean had managed to get Sam back to the cabin, but Sam refused to go inside. Dean gently helped Sam into the passenger seat, grimacing as he heard Sam hiss after his back came in contact with the seat. He could see the faint sheen of sweat on Sam's face and knew he was probably beginning to run a slight fever. He had to get the cuts cleaned out and soon. "Hold on Sam…I just need to make sure we have all our stuff out of the cabin. I'll be right back."
Sam watched as Dean entered the cabin, his gun drawn just in case someone had decided to return. Sam jumped as the radio on the car came on with a low hiss. He looked around, the hair on his neck standing on end as the hiss began to make words. "You can't leave…you're mine!"
Sam reached for the handle of the door, but the door wouldn't open. He knew that Dean kept a shot gun in the back seat. He groaned as his body protested, but managed to reach into the back and grab the gun. He checked and thanked his brother for loading it with rock salt as he looked out into the gathering darkness. Realizing he had to warn Dean, he pulled out his cell phone…"Damn, no service." Sam grumbled as he reached over and tapped on the horn.
Dean heard the horn and immediately headed outside. He saw Sam moving around in the car and noticed his brother was holding a shot gun. Moving cautiously towards the car he couldn't see anything. As he got closer, he could see Sam's lips moving, but he couldn't make out the sound. He moved around the car to the passenger door and reached over to open it…but the door was locked.
"Sam…unlock the door!" Dean pounded on the glass while keeping an eye on the woods behind him.
"I can't Dean…the door is jammed…something is going on." Sam pulled his set of keys out of his jeans pocket and put them in the ignition of the car. He slid over intending to see if he could move the car. As he turned the keys, the engine refused to turn over. Sam was trapped inside the car.
Dean watched Sam try to start the car and realized that something was messing with his car. He had to get Sam out of there and fast. "I'm sorry baby, but I have to." Dean used the butt end of the shot gun to shatter the glass on the passenger side. "Come on Sam, you can crawl out the window!"
Sam scooted over, carefully avoiding the glass on the seat and managed with Dean's help to get through the window. As he stood, the world began to spin and he would have fallen if Dean hadn't caught him. "Come on Sam…let's get inside the cabin. We won't be out in the open there."
Dean managed to get Sam inside and immediately began to spread salt around the windows and doors. Sam sat on the couch and tried to keep himself from blacking out, his head was killing him and his body was beginning to shiver. "The radio came on Dean…said we can't leave…guess you were right…must be a spirit."
Dean shook his head. "Could we have two things here Sam? Maybe a spirit and the shape shifter?"
Sam nodded. "I suppose so…anyway, looks like we may be finding out." Sam's head began to fall to his chest; his eyes were so heavy he didn't think he could keep them open much longer.
Dean saw that Sam was ready to pass out, but he needed to secure the place first. "Stay awake Sam…you probably have a good concussion there. I'll be done in just a minute."
Sam was trying but the darkness was calling to him. He could escape from the pain in his head and body for just a minute. But just before he let himself go, he felt a soft hand on his forehead. He opened his eyes and tried to focus on the concerned face of his brother. "I'm tired Dean." Sam mumbled.
"I know Sam…but you need to stay awake for just a bit more." Dean checked Sam's pupils and sighed with relief that they appeared to be normal. He pulled over their first aid kit and quickly pulled out the aspirin and handed it to Sam with a bottle of water. "You need to take these. It should help with the slight fever you are running and the pain Sam."
Dean decided that the bedroom was definitely out for the night. So he went back out to the car and brought in their sleeping bags. He placed Sam's bag on the couch and opened it up. "Ok Sam, lets get your pants and shirt off. I need to treat those cuts." Dean helped Sam remove his clothes, sucking in his breath at the deep cuts the thorns had caused on Sam's body. He also saw the bruising from the fall as well as from the fight…there was a nasty bruise across Sam's back that caused his brother to hiss when he gently wiped the blood from his back. "What the hell did he hit you with Sam?"
"Tree branch…sorry Dean…should have watched your back better." Sam whispered as his eyes began to close again. He was really tired and just wanted to sleep.
Dean shook his head. Sam obviously was still feeling guilty, so much for the new tactic. Dean decided to just let it pass for now. Besides, his brother probably wouldn't remember it tomorrow anyway. "Just close your eyes Sam and try to get some sleep."
Dean continued to gently clean Sam's many cuts and bruises. Luckily none of them seemed life threatening. Sam would be stiff and sore tomorrow, but otherwise he should be fine. Dean gently pulled the other half of the sleeping bag over the sleeping form of his brother. He figured Sam could sleep in his boxers for tonight. Clothes would just aggravate the healing cuts from the thorns. Besides, Dean intended to clean them and point antibiotic ointment on them again in the morning. "Get some sleep Sam…I've go your back tonight."
TBC
Raven524: Sam is a little battered and Dean is a little concerned and we have a slightly crazy shape shifter prowling around….business as usual for our two favorite brothers! Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews!
