ok, first off i would like to say that i am so very, very sorry this took so long. writing weechesters is alot harder then i thought.
I would like to say thank you all again for the great reviews and enjoy!
D: not mine :-(
TWILIGHT
Chapter 4
Dean spun around on the spot, his frantic eyes taking in all that was around him, heart beating faster and faster as the storm grew. The sky above him seemed to be falling, dropping down out of the heavens to crush the young boy. Everything he was, everything he could be was dependent on Sammy, and now he had somehow managed to lose him. He should have listened to his father, should have done what he was told, followed orders. But no, he had to be difficult, had to bargain, had to put his baby brother in danger.
The thunder roared again as the rain fell to the ground, turning the sloping green lawns into pits of mud and water. The wind blew stronger and stronger with each passing moment, almost as though it were mocking him, pushing him, keeping him from finding his brother. The eleven year old could barely stand, the gale so fierce, rain so heavy that he stumbled rather then ran to the back of the sheds, his green eyes searching, soul pleading, but Sammy was nowhere to be seen.
And suddenly Dean felt like he was drowning, the air around him growing think and heavy as his lungs constricted. He had lost him, he had gone against his father's wishes, against his orders and he had lost Sam. It was like the Striga all over again. Every thought told him he had failed, every heart beat another beat without his brother, another moment that he was alone. And he knew then his father would never forgive him.
Sam meant everything to the older man, was everything that kept the senior Winchester going, everything that kept him hunting. And Dean knew, without a doubt, that his dad would not be able to go on without him. It was something the little boy knew ever since that fateful night in Fort Douglas, ever since his father made him learn his training all over again, ever since his father started looking at him in a different light. Dean could see the disappointment in his dad's eyes, feel the regret in his stare. He had been given an order, he hadn't listened and Sam had gotten hurt. And Dean knew then, that, if he couldn't take care of Sam, then he was no good to anyone.
"Dean. Dean!" The voice brought him back from the ever encroaching darkness, the air around him still heavy, but thankfully not as suffocating as it was a few moments before. He turned immediately to the hand on his shoulder, Kerri's worried eyes meeting him as the lighting flashed again through the slate black sky.
"I lost him."
"Hey, we'll find him, all right. He can't have gotten far."
"I was supposed to look after him."
"I know, Dean, and you did. He'll be ok."
"Where's Evelyn?"
"She's in the house. I told her to lock the doors and stay put till we got back. Now, come on, I think this storm's gonna get worse before it gets better."
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Sam followed the basketball over the wet grass, mesmerized, the object rolling just fast enough that he couldn't catch up to it. He ran after it, further and further into the blinding storm, but the ball continued to roll just a few feet ahead. He didn't want to be out there, he just wanted his brother, but he had to get the ball before it was lost. He knew that it was the only one they had and their dads were gonna be gone for a whole two weeks.
He was scared, but he wasn't about to admit that, wasn't about to let that turn him around. His brother and his dad were both so brave, so strong, and he wanted, needed to be just like them. He was so very proud of his little family, and he didn't want to do anything to let them down, anything to make them look weaker. After all, his dad was a hero and he knew that Dean was one too, and the little boy would not let himself be left out of the picture.
Sam froze when the winds blew again, stronger and colder then he had ever felt before. He could have sworn that he heard something, something out in the wind, something more then just the rain and thunder. The ball slowed to a stop just a few meters ahead, the forest beyond dark and deathly still in the violent storm. He turned back to the house, scared brown eyes growing wider when he saw just how far away it was, just how close to the forest he had managed to get.
He had to turn around, had to go back to the house. Both his dad and Dean had told him not to go beyond the sheds, not under any circumstances. But this wasn't his fault, not really, he had just been following the ball, just been trying to retrieve it before it was lost in the storm, surely his father and Dean would understand that.
"Sammy." He heard a voice, soft and distant but still somehow so very close. And it made him shutter. He didn't like the dark forest, at all. Dean had offered to build him a tree house there the previous year but he had soundly refused. The forest was very big, very dark, and very scary, and Sam would have none of it.
"Dean?" Sam called out, his small voice shaky and quiet. He wanted his brother, wanted to be back up at the house, warm and safe, not standing there at the foot of the forest. As if sensing the little boy's hesitation the ball rolled a few feet closer to the trees, just within their towering shadows, but still Sam didn't move, didn't even blink. And again, the ball moved just a little further.
But instead of following it, instead of moving towards the dark trees, the little boy did the only thing his terrified mind could comprehend, he turned back towards the house and called out for his big brother. And, as if on que, the winds rose again, pushing Sammy back towards the forest, back towards the ball that was now rolling past the trees, off into the deep shadows. But Sam continued to fight, continued to battle the storm, his need for his brother over powering everything else.
"Dean!" He yelled as the thunder rolled, the rain mixing with the tears now rolling down his face. The storm was growing so strong, the rain so heavy that he was not unable to see which direction the large house was in, unable to see any sign of his brother or the girls. But he still couldn't stay by the forest, and so he began to stumble through the gale, calling out to his brother between terrified sobs.
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Dean and Kerri both called out for Sam as they battled the pelting rain and driving winds, the lighting crashing dangerously overhead as the storm raged on. They couldn't believe how fast they had managed to lose him, how a split second was all it took for Sam to vanish into thin air. But they both knew that he wouldn't stay that way, that they would find him, no matter what.
"Dean!" It was so distant, so muffled by the storm, but it was there, and Dean had never been more relieved in his life. It had only been a few minutes, but to the elder Winchester it felt like a lifetime, a lifetime without his brother. His entire world had crumbled in those few short minutes, everything he was, everything he was raised to be disappearing into the ever increasing winds. But now, now he had been given a second chance, been given his little brother back and he swore that he wouldn't let himself screw up again.
"Sammy!" Dean yelled again, his heart beating faster when he still couldn't see the smaller boy amidst the powerful storm. He continued to scan the area around him as he and Kerri ran off across the fields, further and further into the driving rains. It was like looking for a needle in a hay stack. Sam was so small and the storm was so strong, the fields so wide that they were beginning to think they would never find him, that they would run right past him without even knowing it.
But then suddenly, finally, Dean spotted the small mop of brown hair over in the distance, Sam stumbling as he fought against the wind and rain. The older boy let out a breath, feeling as though he had been underwater for days and ran out across the fields to his little brother, he too stumbling in the mud, the wind nearly knocking him to his knees. But nothing would slow him down, nothing would stop him from getting to his brother.
The wind picked up as he and Kerri ran, the gale pushing them from all directions, forcing them away from the little boy, Sam stumbling through the storm, barely able to keep his feet beneath him. And, if Dean didn't know any better, he would have sworn that he heard a voice on the wind, almost like muffled music reaching out across the fields. He quickened his pace as the voice grew, his eyes focused on the brown haired boy a few hundred feet away, mind trying to drown out the ever growing song.
"Dean!" Sam called out again before falling into a deep puddle. His legs were tired, so very, very tired, and he just wanted to be out of the storm, just wanted to be safe and warm. He had never been anywhere by himself, had never been so far from his big brother's side, and that scared him more then anything else.
Dean was always there when he needed him, always there to chase away the nightmares, to make the darkness a little less foreboding. And at that moment Sam wanted nothing more in the world then to be in his brother's arms, but he just couldn't find him. He had never been so far from him, never been so alone, and that very thought brought on even more tears as he sat, exhausted, in the ever growing puddle.
"Sammy." Dean nearly shouted as he made his way over to the little boy, pulling the crying child up into his arms. "Are you ok?"
Just then another flash of lightning lit the dark sky, the thunder crashing not even a full second later. Sam jumped and wrapped his tiny arms around his brother's waist, holding onto him with every ounce of strength he could find as he buried his face into Dean's shirt and cried. He didn't want to be outside anymore, didn't want to be near the forest anymore. He just wanted Dean to keep him warm, wanted his brother to show him the way home, to tell him that everything was ok.
Sam pulled closer still as the three children began their trek back to the house, the little boy's face still buried against his brother's chest, his arms still wrapped tightly around him as the thunder rolled again and again, the lighting flashing like the little boy had never seen before.
"I'm scared, Dean."
"It's ok, I got you. Nothing's gonna happen." Dean spoke smoothly as he pushed back his little brother's soaking bangs, Sam still holding on to him like his life depended on it.
"I'm sorry I lost the ball."
"It's ok, Sam." Kerri spoke up, "We'll get it later."
"I didn't mean to go so far, it just kept rolling and I couldn't catch it."
"Where is it?"
"It rolled into the woods, but I didn't want to go there. I don't like it in there."
"That's fine, Sam. I'll go get it later."
"No!" Dean broke in, his senses on high alert. Something wasn't right, he could feel it. The forest was a few hundred meters from where they were playing, and he knew that the ball shouldn't have been able to roll that far. No, his father had said no outside, and now, Dean agreed. "We'll leave it."
"We'll talk about it later." Kerri rebounded, eyeing Dean. She knew he was blaming himself, knew he was worried that something would happen while their dads were gone. But she also knew this place, knew that forest and knew this house. And, at the moment, she had no reason to be afraid of any of it.
Dean turned and looked back at the forest behind them, the trees bending and swaying in the fierce winds. But there was nothing there but foliage, nothing behind them but forest. He pulled his brother just a little closer as he shot a glance at Kerri, his own fears beginning to rise. Evelyn had heard singing, and so had he, and now Sam was lured there. Something was going on, something was wrong, and he needed to convince Kerri of that, needed her on his side. And suddenly, despite himself, he wished his father was there.
"Don't worry, Sam." Dean began, smiling down at the little boy. He didn't want to scare him anymore then he already was, especially when he wasn't totally sure that there was anything to be scared about other then a bad storm and a couple of overactive imaginations. "We've been coming here for years and nothings ever happened. It's probably just the storm."
"That forest scares me."
"You don't have to be scared, I'm here and I promise I won't let anything bad happen."
"Ok."
"Now come on, let's get out of this storm, I'm sure Evelyn's doesn't want to be up there by herself anymore."