~defy~
Sucker love, a box I choose
No other box I choose to use
Another love I would abuse
No circumstances could excuse
Absolutely everything hurt and aching waves of pain raced through his head as Sam rolled onto his side. Springs creaked at his movement and despite knowing that he should just go back into the land of dreams, he blinked slowly as he opened his eyes. Shadows flickered against the walls of the small room and he sat up slowly even as his muscles screamed in protest. One solid wall of the room was composed completely of rock and the rest of the drywall had cracks running through it.
A broken chandelier hung in the middle of the dented ceiling and if the candles lining the old dusty dresser in the corner were accurate, the electricity didn't work either. In curiosity, he stood carefully from the side of the bed and wandered around the room. He had been laying on a platform bed with surprisingly clean sheets, covered with blankets and piled with pillows. The floor was swept clean for the most part, but dust gathered in the corners and the tapestry being used as a rug, while presentable, had stains.
Wherever he was, it was no where that he had seen before. In fact, it looked to be some kind of abandoned house; though he still couldn't explain the wall of rock on the far side of the room. He carefully walked to the old wooden door that sat crookedly on its rusty hinges and pulled it open with a bit of force. Solid black met him and for a moment he just stood there looking out into the darkness. He couldn't see anything without any light, so he picked up one of the candle sticks before returning to the open door way.
As he reached the frame the candle flickered at a light breeze from outside the door and Sam stuck the candle through the threshold, trying to see into the hall. It illuminated close to nothing however and he found that he couldn't even see the floor. Bending down he waved the flame downwards and froze in horror when the floor on his side of the door seemed to cut off and drop so many feet on the outside. Carefully taking the candle out of its holder, he dropped it from the outside and watched with tremors of fear as the candle dropped nearly six feet before finally going out.
He waited there on the ledge for a moment, waiting to hear the candle hit the floor but no sound ever came. A sudden sharp whistling sound echoed from the darkness in front of him and he scurried back, slamming the door closed as he went. When the rock of the wall behind him was firmly digging into his back, he finally stilled as the whistling on the other side of the door finally gave way to silence once more.
There was a long minute of him trying to calm his nerves before the door opened gently and Dwayne stepped through onto the floor. Sam stared up at him, almost wishing that he didn't know the reason as to how Dwayne had been able to get into the room. He might not have known where he was, but just outside the door was a sheer drop off and he knew that no human could have gotten here without a lot of lights and climbing equipment. From the look in Dwayne's eyes, both of them knew that he wasn't human.
Without a word, Dwayne closed the door behind him and stepped forward, laying a small box on the bed that he'd been carrying. Sam just watched as he kneeled down in front of him and sat on the floor. The man reached up and removed what looked like scratch cleaner from the box. It was then that the memories from in the alley finally flooded back into his head.
"Michael!" Sam began in a panic before Dwayne quietly shushed him with a knowing look. Not a whole word left the mans mouth, but still Sam was reassured that his brother was alright and being taken care of. A cool tan hand reached out and took his own smaller one, turning the palm upwards. He flinched at the sight of his own bruised and scarred up hands as Dwayne poured a little of the antiseptic on each.
Despite the pain, Sam merely hissed through it and out of instinct Dwayne leaned down to blow on them. The cool air relieved some of the pain and Sam gave the man a small smile in thanks. Just a few minutes later found his hands bandaged quite skillfully and his few bruises elsewhere fixed up with some bruise salve. The thought that Dwayne wasn't human rested in the back of his mind however and he wondered where the man had gotten the first aid kit. Surely they didn't need it.
After finishing massaging the salve into the bruise on his side, Dwayne stood and placed the kit on the dresser. Sam pulled himself to his feet and sat back down on the edge of the bed while the man walked around the room straightening the best he could. "Is this room yours?" The question was met by a meaningful stare and a small nod. "Who is caring for Michael?" This time Dwayne sighed softly and sat on the rocking chair in the corner.
"The girl." Images of the gypsy-like girl from before, the one that would have led Michael to his death came to the front of his mind. "She won't harm him." Dwayne must have sensed the fear rising in him and just like that the fear abated. Then they were immersed in the silence, with nothing but the flickering candles and chill of the air to disturb them. As Sam continued to observe the room, now taking in all of the details with the knowledge that he was safe; it really felt more homey then he had first thought.
Thought, Sam paused as he put a hand to the base of his head running his fingers through the hair they found. He could think. There were no visions darting around behind his eyes. Absolutely nothing. Since coming to Santa Carla the visions had calmed but they had never just stopped. Yet here he was with a clear head able to think clearly about anything he wished; but at the same time his head felt empty with the constant bombardment of images.
By the time that he had come back to himself, he found that Dwayne had knelt down in front of him; his fingers finding the back of his neck and angling his head so that they were meeting eye to eye. "Are you alright?" Sam simply stared at him, suddenly aware of their close proximity. If Dwayne were to lean forward just a bit more, their lips would touch and he was sure that sparks would fly.
Blood rose to his cheeks then at the thoughts as disappointment rushed through him and he suddenly wished that the visions would return. Then they could distract him from the very distracting man in front of him, that he shouldn't be distracted by. Taking in a gulp of air, he spoke calmly albeit a bit breathily, "I'm fine." Dwayne rose an eyebrow at his tone and though Sam knew that he realized the issue, the man didn't say a word about it. If anything that was teasing enough.
With a small amount of comforting pressure from Dwayne's fingers, he finally released him and walked to the door. As it's handle hit the wall with a soft thud, Dwayne turned back and reached out a hand; beaconing Sam to come to him. His feet were carrying him across the tapestry before he was aware that he had begun to move and Sam looked up at the quiet man as muscled arms wrapped around him.
The promising look of safety reflected from his hazel eyes with a nod and then the ground disappeared from beneath them. Not a sound escaped Sam though his breath did catch in his throat as he buried his face into the chest he was held to. That free fall feeling quickly disappated as the air around them whisked by as if they were taking turns and dips through the darkness.
Never did his eyes close though his arms gripped around Dwayne's neck so tightly that he was sure the man would have choked if he had been human. Then they were suddenly standing still and everything around them was lit up even more brightly than the previous room had been. Sam, without leaving the arms holding him, looked around the room which was actually a cave from the looks of it.
Tapestries, couches, mattresses, and chairs littered the different levels of the ground. Small hollows into the walls leading to different parts of the cave were covered by sheer sheets of different colors, while the entire area was lit up by what seemed to be hundreds of candles. Sitting around on the different pieces of furniture were the rest of the group. Loud music echoed off of the walls as Paul tapped his foot to the beat singing along in a surprisingly good voice.
Marco continuously shoved Paul's boots off of his lap as he was leafing through what looked to be a magazine, even as the taller man set them back up again. While David sat calmly a wheelchair, in a piss poor mood Sam was sure. "Sam!" The shout came from the left and when Sam glanced in the direction, he found Michael standing in one of the hollowed out rooms holding the sheet aside.
Behind him, Sam could see the gypsy girl looking almost in pain as Michael rushed across the floor almost tripping on the way. Then he was being pulled into his brothers arms and he suddenly wondered where Dwayne had gone. That was until their angle was twisted and he could see the man sitting on a short ledge as if he had been there all the time.
"Where have you been? Macho man over there said that you were fine, but are you okay? Where were you?" There was a distinct snort of annoyance from who he knew was David as Sam just sort of floundered at his brothers quick fire questions, unsure of where he had been in the first place, but absolutely sure that it had been Dwayne's. Before he could answer, Michael was being led away by the girl to sit down on one of the spare couches whispering calming words to him.
Sam merely gave a small sigh before walking over and sitting on one of the piles of cushions. "I am fine Mike. Really." Michael only shrugged the girl off when he was firmly seated, but he didn't appear to want to stand back up. If the way he was slumping was anything to go by, he was probably just as sore as Sam was. "I do however have a question for David." It was then that the man finally snapped into attention. Sam looked at him in with a pinched expression, "Who the hell is Marla?"
In the shape of things to come
Too much poison come undone
Cause there's nothing else to do
Every me and every you
~defy~