A Christmas Miracle
Chapter Nine
The landscape was painted in hues of nightmare black and blood-red. The distant horizon was lit up by orange fire melting away into rotten honey. The road beneath Sam's bare feet was scalding hot, like asphalt on a summer day. He looked down into the eyes of a petrified soul, trapped beneath a road of frozen fire. The edges licked up, creating divots and grooves, thin tongues that sliced his feet.
The heat was like a blowtorch. It shriveled his skin, drying up his mouth and eyes, until he felt like a coarse husk of brittle grass. His straw hair brushed his chapped cheeks and when he breathed in through his nose it felt like a thousand bees were stinging his nostrils. Behind him he was leaving a trail of brackish blood, made thicker with each step he took. Every time he lifted his foot, the blood he left behind sucked at the raw edges of his flesh, desperately trying to pull him into purgatory beneath the hard orange glass of the road. He resisted, easily at first then forcefully as he walked further along.
He came to a bridge that arched over molten lava. It swept by like a rushing river and Sam could see pale hands reaching outwards, wanting to be saved from eternal hellfire. Faces burst to the top, mouths wrenched open in endless screams before disappearing beneath fiery waves. Sam tilted his head to the side, listening for their cries, but all he could hear was a distant hum which was barely discernable over the din of unnatural silence that seemed to perforate the entire world.
At the highest point of the arch a dark figure hovered. It had no substance, just smoke held together in a loose approximation of a man's form. Black mist swirled where its feet should have been and it had tentacles more than arms. Though the figure wasn't familiar, Sam had a startling moment of clarity. He knew the creature across from him as intimately as he knew his own heart.
"Azazel," he breathed, and the hum in the back of his head became a fraction louder.
The figure turned, its sickly yellow eyes blazing clearly from the depths of shadow it cloaked itself in. It stared at Sam for long moments, its head slowly cocking to the side as if it was studying a complex math problem.
"You are—"The demon whispered, its voice harsh to Sam's ears. Sam expected the demon to know him, to recognize him for what he was, but then Sam remembered he was in The Before. Before the demon came. Before he was born. Before his mother was murdered. Before everything had been destroyed on a demon's whim.
"Perfect."
The demon's voice dropped an octave, sliding around Sam's skin in a pervert's caress. Sam's flesh shrunk on his bones in repulsion and he had to fight the urge to step back. The demon might not recognize Sam for who he was, but he saw what he was. And what the demon saw inside of him made Sam sick to his stomach.
The demon stepped towards him, and Sam stepped back, the frozen fire sucking at his heels. They stopped, staring at each across the distance. Azazel's eyes were lit up with something close to lust, and the sickness in Sam's stomach grew.
"If I could dream, it would be of you."
The demon's tentacle arms lengthened until they dragged across the ground. Obsidian claws formed from the smoke and they tapped a delicate rhythm on the orange glass. With every tap, they edged a tiny bit closer.
Tap, tap, tap.
Sam forced himself to be still, to be unafraid. The bridge the demon stood upon was nothing more than a wave of frozen fire over molten lava. More lost souls breached the surface of liquid flame, flailing for purchase before the rushing currant dragged them away. As Sam watched, a loose plan formed in the back of his mind where the steady hum was gaining momentum.
Sam met the demon's eyes, keeping him focused on his face and not his movement.
"What is it that you want to create in the human world, Azazel? What is your dream?" Sam moved closer to the bridge, and the tapping of obsidian claws grew louder.
"My dream is you. So beautiful. So powerful. Able to move between worlds with fluid ease. Unstoppable. Unbeatable. The ultimate violation of His creation." Azazel spat, the last his eyes shifting to the ground, sliding over Sam's feet.
His yellow eyes darted up, clashing with Sam's human gaze. The black smoke cleared for a moment, and Sam could see shock and surprise in the demon's eyes. As he had spoke, Sam had edged his way closer, until one foot rested on the bridge.
"No!" The demon shouted, his voice reverberating across the landscape bell tower loud and just as excruciating. Sam dropped to his knees, his hands covering his bleeding ears.
"No! You shall not pass. Only those with infernal blood may cross the Devil's Bridge. Mortals shall be pulled into oblivion!"
Azazel lashed out a tentacle, a single claw slicing Sam across the cheek. Fire blossom where it wounded him and Sam could feel poison spreading through his veins, numbing his cheek and swelling his lips. A wall sprouted from the ground with dangerous speed, separating him from the demon and throwing Sam backwards. He rolled away, gaining his feet quickly, years of training coming to bear. As he stood, he looked around. The hellish landscape was gone, replaced with sage and cream pinstriped walls, and thick, soft carpeting between his toes. He spun around, seeing a figure tucked into a corner, gently rocking, singing a lilting melody, so quiet no words could be made out.
Sam stood in middle of the nursery he remembered from his nightmares. At any moment he expected it to burst into flames. He was unsurprised when the woman in the corner gave no indication he was there. He didn't expect Mary to react to him. She never did in her dreams. She never acknowledged him as he came and went. He edged closer, peering down at the bundle she held against her chest, but it was tightly wrapped in a blue blanket.
The hum in the back of Sam's head was becoming a dull roar. He could barely hear his thoughts above the steady tumult. Suddenly, Mary lifted her face, her striking blue eyes piercing Sam all the way into his soul. He stared into them, falling forward into the endless depths. He was reminded of Jessica's clear blue eyes and how he would stare into them for hours on end. He was reminded of the picnic they had taken at the beach. How they had swam in the cold blue waters of the pacific, laughing the entire day away. Sam was reminded of water. Miles upon miles of crystal clear, cold, blue water.
"Do you want to see him? He's so perfect."
Sam nodded unable to speak. She pulled the sucking babe away from her breast with a wet pop, and in the shadowed room, Sam could make out streaks of black on her white skin. She tilted the bundle towards him, allowing the blanket to fall open to reveal the infant. Inside the wrapping was a hideous monster with blackened flesh with flailing arms that ending in tiny claws. It squalled in discontent, and Sam could see its mouth was lined with sharp kitten teeth.
Mary held the demon baby in outstretched arms, and contented smile curving her pink bow lips.
"Isn't he the most beautiful thing you've ever seen? Our little Sam. Our boy king."
The baby's eyes opened, and it stared at Sam with one golden and one human hazel eye.
"No. It's not true."
Sam stumbled back, horror-struck. He bolted out the doorway and fell into a sea of blinding light. He blinked away the sun, focusing on the sensations on his skin. He was lying on his back, something soft and damp cradling him. He could smell salt in the air and the dull crash in the back of his head was now roaring to be heard. Waves pounded the beach and seagulls cried. Next to him he heard laughter, then a shadowy form leaned over him, blotting out the sun.
"Are you going to lay there all day, sleepy head? There are things to do, you know."
Sam felt all the tension in his body melt away at the teasing voice that soothed over his fire-chapped skin. He opened his eyes, a lazy smile stretching across his lips as he gazed into Jess's blue eyes.
"I can't think of anything I would rather be doing." He looped his long arms around her narrow waist, pulling her down onto his wide chest. She collapsed with a giggle, straddling him so she could perch onto of him like a contented cat.
"Can't you?" She asked, smiling gleefully at his attention.
He pursed his lips as though in deep thought while he plunged his hands into her long blonde hair. He wrapped the silken strands around his fingers, pulling her down until their lips hovered a fraction apart.
"Nope," he whispered, lifting his head to seal his lips over hers. Her touch was liquid cool against his burning skin; her lips were a refreshing drink of water. The melted into each other, merging in perfection until Sam vowed to never let her go.
Breathlessly she reared back, and Sam was forced to release her hair. She planted her delicate hands in the middle of his chest, keeping him at bay as she laughed down at him.
"Come on, Sam. You have things to do."
"Like what?" he groused.
"Destroying the world, of course." Jess swept her hand across the fiery landscape, showing Sam the smoking ruin of the ocean side town. Sam scrambled up, dumping Jessica unceremoniously onto the ground. Destruction was everywhere. Buildings were toppled; fires burned endlessly, blood streamed through the streets. None of it caught Sam's eyes. Instead he stared out into the sea of molten fire, and the orange waves that beat the glass beach.
"Something is wrong," he muttered to himself, staring at the crackling ocean. The roar in his mind was fading to a hum and he scrambled to recapture it.
"Nothing is wrong, Sam. Everything is as it should be," Jess replied, her hand feather-light on his forearm.
"No, the ocean—"He turned to face her, and fell into the depthless blue of her eyes. As he stared at her the roar returned, and he remembered what he had forgotten. "It should be water. All of it. It needs to be water."
Jess tilted her head to the side, watching him with an amused tilt to her lips. Slowly she shook her head, her eyes hooding in disappointment, and Sam was filled with the crushing belief that he was wrong. She receded from him, removing her light touch from his arm and sliding backwards away from him. The light from the fires dimmed, and darkness stretched a clawed hand over the sky. Stars fell out of the sky, lading on the dirt next to Sam's feet. They splintered apart, spitting out thousands of diamond chains from a single seed. They crisscrossed each other, spinning out into a web. The ground fell away leaving Sam precariously balanced on a single threaded chain.
"You're not going to believe that bitch are you, Sammy?"
Sam spun around at the familiar voice, nearly losing his balance and falling to the black abyss beneath him. He caught himself, relying on his cat-like reflexes that had saved him so many times in the past.
"Dean," Sam gasped, and racking pain lacerated his heart. His brother was stretched spread-eagle over the abyss, suspended by chains that pierced his flesh at his belly, shoulder and thigh.
"No! This isn't right. It's not your time yet. You shouldn't be here. I'm going to save you."
Sam shifted his weight towards Dean, but the chain he stood on was the one which speared Dean through the belly. Dean winced at his movement, and Sam forced himself to be absolutely still. Sam tried to cry, but hot blowing wind scalded his eyes and dried up his tears.
"I don't know, Sammy. Maybe I'm not really here. Or maybe this is what's in store for me in the future. None of that matters now. What matters is that you believe in yourself."
Sam scrubbed his hands across his face, feeling sand scrap his raw skin. He held himself still, his hands over his eyes, blotting out everything but the darkness he created. The hum in his head was fading away and he could hear his thoughts again, but they did him more harm than good. They were evil thoughts, filled with bad memories and self-doubt. He dropped his hands, his eyes roving over Dean's torn body, and pale, bloodless face. Finally he met Dean's eyes, so green against the dark hollows of his face.
"What do you mean?" Sam asked tiredly, and he wondered how much longer he could sustain himself. How much longer before the desiccant molecules of his body just blew away into dust?
"Sammy, if you think the answer is water. Then it must be water. Believe in yourself and that monster brain of yours."
Sam hung his head, absorbing his brother's words. His entire life there had been one constant. Even when he had been away to college and he found Jess, there had still only been one voice in his head that he followed when he was backed in a corner. His brother's voice had led him out of more trouble than he cared to recount, and all he had to do was believe in it one last time.
The hum in his head expanded to an all-consuming roar that filled all the dark spaces in his head. It sang in his blood and rumbled his bones. It sealed him back up, gluing together all the cracks that were threatening to come undone. Renewed, he began to believe in himself.
He lifted his head, his eyes tear-bright for his brother's pain and their family's misery. Dean saw the moisture in his brother's eyes, and his full lips stretched into a weak smile.
"How?" asked Sam and Dean nodded.
"If you wanna reach the bottom, all you have to do is fall."
Sam smiled, loving his brother for who he was. There were no cryptic words or hidden meanings. Dean Winchester always said exactly what he meant. Sam nodded, and pitched sideways off the chain. The wind rush passed him as he fell through shadows and diamond dust. Time stretched on for eternity, and Sam may have nodded off for a few hours. Fire licked up from the bottom the pit, licking him with burning tongues, wrapping around him in a lover's caress.
The world opened up to a landscape of nightmare black, crimson-red and bitter orange, and Sam knew he had returned to the beginning. He landed on his feet, at the edge of the Devil's Bridge, Azazel standing where he left him.
Sam thought he heard the demon gasp, but he couldn't be certain over the roaring in his head. It was so loud he was certain that it must be leaking out his ears and pouring out his eyes. He stared straight into the demon's eyes, and determinedly placed one foot on the frozen fire bridge.
"No!" Azazel shouted, his tentacles lashing out.
Sam didn't recoil. He welcomed the claws as they pierced his skin, latching tightly beneath his flesh.
"Only one with infernal blood may cross the bridge."
Sam gripped the black tentacle tightly. It was surprisingly dry beneath his hand, the muscle rubbery and strong. He took another step onto the bridge, curling the tentacle up like a rope, looping it under his elbow and over his hand. The claw pulled at his side, trying to get away, but he held it tight, using its anchor in his flesh to his advantage.
"You should know, Yellow-Eyes. You made me what I am." He wound the tentacle tighter, pulling the demon closer until they stood together on the bridge only inches apart.
"But you don't control who I am," Sam finished through gritted teeth, winding up the last few inches between them.
The demon screeched and struggled, but it seemed to Sam that its strength was feeble compared to his. He peered through the dark smoke, passed the golden eyes to what ignited them from the inside.
"This isn't possible. You don't exist. You can't exist."
More tentacles, slammed into Sam's body, hooking him in soft places. He grunted in pain, and tacky blood ran down his legs to mingle on the ground at his feet. Instead of try to force him away, the demon was trying to devour him, pulling him into the smoky ruin of its body. Sam flowed into the demon, ignoring the hundreds of tiny mouths with needle teeth that latched onto him, chewing holes into his flesh. He delved his hands into the smoke, his fingers plucking at the demon's golden eyes, searching for something brighter, something hotter.
"I don't exist. Not yet. But that doesn't stop the fact that I know how to destroy you. That I'm going to end you, here and now."
The roar in Sam's head was deafening, escaping his skull. Something cool and wet splashed on his cheeks, and all at once he could hear the screams of the souls trapped in the molten lava flowing beneath the bridge.
Finally his questing fingers found what he was looking for. He cupped the bright ball of fire in the center of the swirling vortex of smoke. It sheared his palms, and charred his finger tips. He screamed with agony, but it was nothing compared to the demon's cries. Now with the demon's heart firmly trapped in his hands, Sam looked to the side where the screams of souls could be heard. In the distance, rushing down the ravine where the lava flowed was a tidal wave of cool blue water. Steam billowed up to the sky, washing away the black and red, until it streaked like muddy paint. Storm clouds formed, and sooty rain began to fall. Sluggish at first, then great sheets of it.
Sam turned back to the demon who was watching him with horrified yellow eyes that were dimming every passing moment.
"How?" The demon gasped, his smoky body dissipating slowly beneath the downpour of rain.
"I simply realized that all I needed to do was extinguish you," Sam intoned, merciless and god-like.
The tidal wave hit the bridge with the force of a thousand raging oceans. It shattered the bridge of orange glass, sweeping Sam and the demon down into its icy waves. As the water sucked them down, Sam released the fiery heart of the demon, watching as it pulsed brightly in the water, before extinguishing into an onyx ball that fell down dead into the depths of the ocean.
Water forced its way down Sam's mouth and into his nose. When he tried to breathe he only inhaled icy water that seized his lungs and froze his heart. He choked and tried to cough it out, but the water pulled on him, dragging him down into a watery grave.
His body jerked, and he lost all feeling in his feet and hands. The edges of his sight began to darken, and his last thoughts were of his brother.
Just as his eyes began to close, the face of a beautiful woman appeared in front of him. Her dark skin was radiant, her lips full and her eyes shining. With soft hands she cupped Sam's jaw, and leaned close to him, sealing her lush lips over his. She exhaled and air filled him, expanding his lungs and freeing his heart until he felt buoyed. He floated upwards, cradled in her arms, breathing her air until the breached the surface of the water.
Sam came awake with a start. He realized immediately that he was on his back, bare to the chest, lying on a soft pallet. To his left a fire crackled and he flinched, glancing at the tiny fireplace. He felt movement on the other side of him, and he looked up into exquisite brown eyes.
He stared at her for long moments, trying to remember where he was and what had happened. His brain scrambled for answers, his thoughts looping around until nothing made since. Finally he sighed, realizing how bone-weary exhausted he was.
"I think--I think I destroyed the yellow-eyed demon," his words were slurred, and his eyes were closing before he finished speaking.
The woman caressed his face with one hand, as she smiled down at him.
"Yes, Sam Winchester. You destroyed the demon."
