Hey all! I have another chapter ready for you. I hope you enjoy it.
Cindy.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Two Days Later
'Another day, another motel,' Daniel thought as he sat at the small table that occupied one corner of the non-discript motel room that he and his family shared. Different day, same décor. Daniel shook his head as he gazed around the room. His eyes fell upon the still form of his baby brother as the younger man slept on the furthest bed from the door. Sam was silent save for the occasional moan and whimper. It killed Daniel not to be able to talk to Sam, not to be able to hear his voice. At least the way Sam's voice normally sounded. On the rare occasion that Sam would speak, his voice sounded toneless and hollow. Daniel knew it was because Sam couldn't hear himself, but it bothered the eldest Winchester sibling immensely to hear that voice coming from his kid brother. He wanted to hear the soft, warm voice that was solely his Sammy.
Daniel had been wracking his brain as to just what was going on. He knew it was a demon, and that someone had to have conjured it, but he couldn't figure out who it could be who would do this to an innocent kid. Plus, he couldn't figure out why Sam was still blind. If he went on how long Sam was, for a better phrase, 'out of his mind,' then Sam should have regained his sight after three days, but it had been five. 'Don't try to make sense of demons, you idiot,' he thought wryly to himself. Daniel knew that demons didn't play by the rules. They made their own rules. Maybe Sam would never regain his sight and hearing. No…that was unacceptable. Sam would see and hear again, and whomever was responsible for hurting him would pay. Sitting in the room, basically alone, gave Daniel time to think. Too much time to think as it was. He remembered the things that Bobby said about there being more than one demon listed in the Lesser Key of Solomon. His greatest fear was that what was happening to Sam was only the beginning. If Bobby was right, then any one of those demons could be coming for his baby brother, and it was anybody's guess on which one or what that demon would do. They had to find who was doing this and stop them before any more harm could come to Sam. The ringing of the room phone startled Daniel out of his thoughts and he jumped up to answer it, hoping it was his dad or Dean saying that they found out something.
"Tell me you found the son of a bitch…" Daniel started as soon as the phone was to his ear.
"Now that wasn't very nice, Daniel Winchester," the voice on the other end of line hissed, amusement apparent in the hateful tone.
"Who the hell is this?" Daniel demanded, his eyes moving fearfully to his still sleeping brother.
"I'm the one who holds all the cards, Daniel," the voice said.
"Why are you doing this? Sam's never hurt anyone," Daniel said, his jaw clenching in anger.
"This isn't about little Sammy. True, he's the one suffering…but then, so are you and your family, right?"
"What do you want?"
"I want you, your brother and your father to pay."
"Pay for what? And why Sam?"
"You know what you did. And as for Sam? What better way to bring you all to your knees? Target the innocent. The one you all hold so dear. I know all about your family, Daniel. I know how you all are with Sammy…"
"Don't call him that you bastard…"
"Yes…that's right. Only you and your family can call him that. Anyway, Sam is the heart of your family, correct? Strike at the heart and the rest will whither away. Tell me, Daniel. If Sam dies, what becomes of your family? Could you all survive?"
"You son of a bitch! You stay away from my brother. I'll kill you…"
"Yes, yes…I know. I don't care. Once I destroy your family, I plan on ending it anyway. I have nothing to lose…I've already lost everything."
"Tell me why you are doing this."
"I want to speak to your father. Get him on the line for me."
"He's not here…now, tell me…"
"I'll only speak with your father. I'll call back. Keep an eye on that baby brother of yours. We wouldn't want anything to happen to him, now would we?" The man laughed as he hung up, leaving Daniel to gape at the phone in shock.
"Daniel…what's wrong?" Dean's voice queried, alerting Daniel that his family had returned.
Daniel looked up from the phone receiver, his eyes wide. Dean stopped in his tracks, sudden wariness washing over him. "Daniel…"
"It was him, Dean. It was him…" Daniel whispered.
Dean shot across the room, ripping the receiver from his older brother's hand. He slammed the phone down when all he heard was dial tone. Both brothers turned their attention to the door when John and the others entered the room, dejection evident on their worn faces. The men stopped as they saw the looks on the younger hunter's faces.
John stepped closer to his sons, his breath hitching. His eyes turned to Sam, suddenly very afraid. When he saw that Sam was sleeping somewhat peacefully, he returned his gaze to his sons. "What's going on?" he queried.
"The son of a bitch…the one doing this to Sam…he called. He knows we're here. He threatened Sammy," Daniel hissed as he sat on the edge of Sam's bed, his fingers reaching out to absently brush the hair from the sleeping boy's eyes.
"What!? When?" Bobby exclaimed as he rushed to John's side.
"Just now. He said he wanted to talk to you, Dad. He said he would call back. He…he asked me what would become of us if…if Sam…"
"If Sam what, Daniel?" Dean asked, wary of the answer.
"If…if Sam dies…"
Dean collapsed on the other bed, his trembling hand brushing through his spiked hair. "Who is it, Daniel? Who's doing this?" he asked, his voice shaking with fury.
"I don't know. His voice sounded familiar, but I just can't place him. He's crazy, I can tell you that. I told him I was going to kill him and he didn't care. He said if we don't kill him, he's gonna do it himself. Says he has nothing to lose…that he's already lost everything," Daniel said, the other hunter's eyes widening at the revelation.
"Well, that just makes this even more dangerous. A man who has nothing to lose will do anything to get what he wants," Joshua said, his deep voice thick with anger.
"I think he's planning something. Something's gonna happen soon. He told me to keep an eye on Sam," Daniel said.
"Daniel, he won't get near Sammy," Dean said with conviction.
"Him? No…but a demon can."
"Not if we can help it. We keep up the protections and wards…" Caleb started.
"It didn't keep Sam from going blind and deaf," Daniel whispered, his hand resting on Sam's arm.
"I think this demon…Shax…he placed all three curses on Sam that first night. He just…spaced them out," Bobby offered.
"You think…but, you don't know for sure," John said, his worried gaze sweeping over his sons.
"Why hasn't Sammy regained his sight? He recovered from his mind thing after three days," Dean queried from his place on his bed.
"Shax can control how long his curses last. Maybe it was his intent to have Sam regain his sanity so that he would know what was happening to him when his sight and hearing left him. Maybe he's keeping Sam this way as a way to keep us off kilter. I really don't know," Bobby replied, his voice apologetic.
"So, you said there are other demons. What could these demons do?" Caleb asked as he moved to sit at the small table.
"Any number of things actually. One can make men commit murder and make a person invisible. One drowns men and another can change a man into any shape it desires. One can destroy the conjurer's enemies by burning them to death while another can produce hallucinations and transport men at will. One can cause great illness, only to cure it if the conjurer wishes it," Bobby answered, the men in the room paling at the list of possible curses that could befall Sam.
"Well, that's just frickin' great!" Dean cried, his face paling considerably.
"Dean…take it easy. We won't let any of those things happen," John said with conviction, his eyes moving to Sam when his youngest son began to stir.
John moved to the bed and gently caressed Sam's cheek with his thumb. Sam jumped slightly as his eyes popped open, the hazel orbs staring sightlessly in John's direction. Sam raised a hand to John's face, his fingers ghosting over his father's stubbly skin. Sam smiled softly as he pulled his hand away. "D'd…" he whispered, knowing instantly who sat beside him.
John grasped Sam's hand and squeezed lightly to let Sam know that he was correct. Sam pushed himself up until he rested against the headboard of his bed, his hand still within his father's grasp. The other men in the room gazed upon the scene, sad smiles alighting their faces. Daniel moved to sit on the other side of Sam and reached up, ruffling Sam's hair. Sam turned in his direction, reaching up in the same way he did with his father. He trailed his fingers lightly over Daniel's face, then up to his hair.
"Dn'l," he said, that strange hollow tone in his voice. "Wh'r D'n?" the youngest Winchester asked, his brow furrowed.
Dean stood from the bed he sat upon and moved over to Sam's bed. He reached for Sam, taking his hand and squeezing gently. Sam smiled as he realized that he was surrounded by his family. He relaxed once more against the headboard, trusting that his family would keep him safe. He could sense the others in the room and wished that he could see them. He knew they were there for him, trying to find who was doing this to him. Sam was so thankful for his family, his 'uncles' included. If it weren't for them, he'd have gone completely insane by now. For someone like Sam, to not be able to see or hear, to not be able to communicate was torture. And Sam knew without a doubt that as hard as it was for him, it was tenfold for his family. He wished that he could do something to help. He hated that he could do nothing but sit in bed, or at the table. He hated that he had to have a babysitter twenty four hours a day, that someone had to be burdened with making sure that the poor blind, deaf kid was taken care of. He had become so much more independent since he started college and now he depended on his family for his every need. A tender hand carding through his hair brought Sam out of his musings and he instinctively leaned into the touch. Touch and smell were all he had left, as taste really did him no good.
Sam knew how hard it was for his tough as nails family to be so touchy feely, but he also knew that they would do anything they had to to make sure that his needs were met. They had proven that over and over, first when he was in the clutches of Michael Wilcox, then a year later when Trenton Wilcox got ahold of him. The tenderness they showed him, were showing him now. The endless chick flick moments. Tears formed in Sam's eyes as he realized just how blessed he was. A soft touch to his cheek, his tears brushed away by loving fingers brought Sam's tears flowing even harder and soon he felt himself being pulled into strong arms. He knew by the scent of the skin his cheek lay against that Daniel held him and he wrapped his arms tightly around his brother's waist, sobbing so hard he found it difficult to breathe. He cried it out, all of his fear and frustrations until he had no more tears to shed. As he began to calm, he felt another hand begin to rub circles on his back and knew it was Dean. Dean had always used that action to calm his baby brother, and it still worked to this day.
Sam pulled away from Daniel, smiling in embarrassment. A playful ruffle of his hair let him know that all was okay. "T'nk's" he whispered. Another ruffle was his welcome.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
The man stood across the street from the motel, his golden hair blowing lightly with the soft breeze. His eyes remained glued to one particular room, knowing that the boy was inside. The room was protected, that much Marbas knew. The boy was protected too by his own personal troop of bodyguards who wouldn't let him out of their sight. Salt lines and protective symbols would keep him out of the room, but Marbas knew that he didn't need to be in the room. He had friends who could do the job for him, and the hunters wouldn't even know that they had been breached. Marbas chuckled to himself then lifted his cupped hands to his mouth, whispering softly into them before opening them up and watching as a small mosquito buzzed away in the direction of the Winchester's room. The insect reached the door just as it opened up and the three hunters who were helping the Winchesters emerged.
The mosquito flew, undetected, into the room and straight for the unsuspecting boy who was sat propped up against the headboard of his bed, flanked by his family. The insect landed on a bare arm and then it did what mosquitos do. A few moments later, the boy slapped at his arm, crushing the small body, but not before it's task was completed. The boy began to scratch at the forming welt until one brother pulled his hand away.
Across the street, hidden in the shadows, Marbas smiled. It was done and there was nothing anyone could do to stop the wheel that was now in motion.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Well, that's it for now. I'll get more up for you just as soon as I can.
Cindy.
