Snow of Time
Chapter 7
Dean groaned, he had fallen asleep at some point and had awoken more sore than he had been when he had fallen asleep. He was familiar with this kind of pain though and slow movements would unlock the stiff joints of having slept on something harder than a bed. His troubles did not go unnoticed and beside him Adam stirred, looking at their surroundings in confusion. He could almost see the look of disbelieve on his youngest brother's face at the deceivingly green scenery around them.
"Did we escape?"
It almost broke Dean's heart to shake his head no, but there would be no lying about it, they were still in this obscure hell like place.
"No, we didn't and the sooner we get out of this place, the better. Demons are much easier to deal with than the things lurking around here."
Dusting the grime from himself, Dean stood with a little more effort than he liked and started in the direction they needed for the exit back into The Pit. Adam did likewise, eyeing Dean's arm, but he said nothing on the matter, either out of guilt or out of fear that Dean would remember whose fault it was. He did not blame the kid, but he did not want to talk about it either, so instead, he set a pace brisk enough that they would make good time and just slow enough to accommodate his injuries and Adam's human limitations.
Only when the entrance was once more in sight did he slow his pace to something less tiring. Adam was a trooper though and had not complained, for that Dean was grateful. His whole body hurt and he doubted he had the patients to listen to complaints. He decided that they could take a break, after they were through the door first and then they could restart their trek up from The Pit once more. It would not be too much longer before they made it to the racks, as this was the last of the holding "office" area and then they would be "home free", or at least in the levels of Makai that he was familiar with.
They had been walking for three weeks when Dean's head snapped up and he looked around frantically. He put a hand up to halt Adam and then shoved him into an alcove, using what little spirit energy he had to cloak them in the shadows as a demon passed by them, they had made it to the rack with only minor difficulty. His wounds had healed over, speeding up their travel, but he was in no shape to take a beating from a demon, he lacked the spirit energy for his best illusion spells, let alone ones used for attacking. However, the demon passed and Dean waited just a little longer to make sure it would not return before they moved from their hiding place.
"Dean, how much longer before we're out of here? The Pit, I mean."
Dean glanced at his brother before sighing and running a hand through his hair.
"A couple more hours, maybe… then we'll be in the Makai and after that possibly another month before we're out completely. It would be quicker if I could find a hell gate, but for us to get out of hell completely, it could be another month at least. Once we're in Makai, then time will slow down to human time, so we'll have been gone a little over a year."
Adam seemed to pause for a moment, calculating the numbers and figuring about how long they had been in hell from the feel of it.
"So we're been here for at least a hundred and twenty years? It feels longer, I wonder if this is what it feels like to be immortal; if so, it sucks."
Dean chuckled and rubbed the kid's head before skipping out of reach of the swipe at him. It was not so bad to live a long time, plus Dean's last trip to hell meant he was at least a couple hundred years old and that was not including his past life! If Adam was getting this excited about getting out of here, then there was hope that he would recover once they made it to the other side. Unfortunately, only time would tell.
They climbed the final stretch when they came to an archway that led into what looked like a dungeon. Dean scouted around the area, but it was the only thing in sight that looked remotely like an exit. Shrugging he turned to Adam who was poking his head in the entryway.
"Are you up for this? Chances are this is either a trap or we're going to have to fight our way out of this dungeon."
Giving one finally glance at back at the pit, he made sure Adam was ready before making his way through the darkened tunnel. The walls were looking more man made rather than the cavern walls of the pit and Dean was cautious for traps in the floor blocks or on the walls.
Just when he was sure they were going to make it without any trouble, there was a grunt up ahead of a guard. Halting Adam, Dean took a quick peek around the corner they had been approaching and then ducked back as the thing looked up. Mentally cursing, Dean took out the curved knife he had picked up along the way and waited for the guard to round the corner to investigate.
Just as the guard dumbly came into view, Dean drove the knife up under its ribcage, before pulling it out and slitting its throat, preventing it from calling out. Adam gagged a little at all the blood and the smell, but Dean just grabbed his hand and dragged him along. There was too much of a chance that there would be more and the swifter they moved, the less chance at fighting their way out of here there was.
They came to a spiral staircase and Dean took the steps two at a time. Adam scurried behind him and the kid kept pace with only minor effort as their travels had provided more than just a means to an exit, but physical training as well. It was nothing spectacular, the cage having taking from both of them, but it was better than the average human; traveling in hell was a lot different than a hike through the woods or up a mountain.
The two of them made it up another set of stairs before they ran into another two guards, one of them escaped before Dean could deal with him and now they were on the run, guards hot on their tails. By the time they made it to anything like an exit, the two of them had to kill about half a dozen more before they skidded to a stop long enough to pull the heavy doors open.
An arrow hit Adam in the shoulder, causing him to drop the sword he had procured from one of the guards and scurried to pick it back up. Dean turned, in time to see another guard about to impale his brother with a spear when something happened. A flash of blinding light and suddenly the guard dropped to the ground, burned to a crisp…
To Be Continued...
AN: I know I know, it's been forever, but I have a new chapter for you and will try to update again before the weeks over!
