Chapter 9—Leaving
Sam was glad that the Cullens liked fast cars.
Over the rain pounding on the roof of Bella's car, Sam heard Bobby start up his El Camino and take off after him. Sam watched Bobby in his mirrors and soon realized that Bobby was going to follow him. So Sam put the pedal to the metal, and Bella's car shot off like a rocket. Bobby was soon lost behind him.
"Dean," he thought, "we have to leave."
"Where's Sam?" Dean's eyes followed Carlisle around the room.
"He went out for a minute," replied Carlisle.
"You said that an hour ago," Dean coughed. Carlisle's eyes flicked onto him.
"Does your chest hurt when you cough?" asked Carlisle, standing over Dean. Dean grunted and yanked the covers off his leg.
"No, you cannot get out of bed," Carlisle made a move to put Dean back in bed.
"Get off me!" snapped Dean, shoving Carlisle away. The only problem with that was that when Dean pushed Carlisle, he might as well have been pushing a cliff. Carlisle, however, backed off, stepping back from Dean just enough so that he could catch him if he fell.
Using his arms, Dean heaved himself up to a standing position. His legs felt wobbly, and he stumbled towards the door, catching himself on the doorframe. All the while, Carlisle stood patiently behind him. Grunting, Dean pulled himself upright, using the doorframe as support. Clutching the wall for support, Dean noisily staggered down the hallway. He paused at the top of the stairs. In a wild movement, Dean made a grab to try and transfer his balance to the rail, but instead he flailed, arms wheeling, and promptly rolled down the stairs.
He hit the bottom with a loud crash. Shaking his head, he observed Carlisle standing at the top of the stairs.
"See? I can walk," gasped Dean, pulling himself upright with the rail.
"Indeed," Carlisle appeared beside him. "How about I help you 'walk' to the couch."
"Why not," Dean allowed the doctor to half carry him to the couch. Carlisle set Dean down and then sat down next to him.
"Let me check," he said, pulling Dean's shirt down. Carlisle poked around at the bandage, lifting it up at random spots, checking for something.
"What exactly are you looking for?" asked Dean, trying to look at what Carlisle was doing.
"Infection, mostly," Carlisle answered, his voice sounding far away. Dean stopped himself from gripping the man's shirt.
"Shit," he thought, "it's happening again." And it did happen. Dean went rigid, and he gasped as a fire suddenly flared inside his veins. He bit his lip and fell of the couch, hitting the hardwood floor with a dull thud. His hand went to his shoulder, and he had to stop himself from screaming.
"Damn." It was the first time he heard Carlisle curse. He felt Carlisle's knees on either side of his hips, and Dean would have laughed if it didn't hurt. He could feel Carlisle's swift fingers pulling the bandages off, but he wished he couldn't feel Carlisle's teeth.
Carlisle's teeth were cold and hard. They felt merciless against his skin, and Dean tried to repress the instinct to push Carlisle away. The instinct won the fight. Thrashing wildly, Dean pushed and shoved against Carlisle. Carlisle caught his wrists and forced Dean to lie still. Tears fell from Dean's eyes as his vision blurred, but for the first time, Dean could feel the fire leaving. Usually, the fire dulled to a point where he could tolerate it, like sunburn. But now, he could feel the fire disappearing all together. He smiled.
Carlisle released Dean's wrists and sat up. He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back into place.
"Ummmm," came a sound from the doorway. Dean twisted his head to see Sam standing in front of them.
"Oh, hey, Sam, I didn't mean to scare you," Dean tried to sit up, but his head began to spin.
"Temporary loss of blood," informed Carlisle, helping Dean stand. Dean stumbled when Carlisle stopped supporting him. "It'll pass."
"So, does that mean we can leave now?" asked Sam, agitated.
"Wait now, hold on," Dean put his hands up. "What do you want to leave now for?" Sam wouldn't answer Dean. He wouldn't look at Dean at all.
"Sam," Dean's voice became harsh, demanding. "Who's here?"
"Bobby, Ellen, and…some girl," listed Sam, still not looking at Dean.
"Some girl?" asked Dean.
"I don't know who she is. But she's strange. Very strange." Sam shrugged.
"What do you mean by strange?" Dean sounded a little panicked
"Bobby said the girl's a psychic," Sam glanced at Dean. Dean swore.
"No wonder they showed up, Bobby probably asked her to find us," Dean began to pace. Somewhere, amidst their conversation, Carlisle had slipped off.
"We have to leave," he concluded after several seconds.
"Why?" asked a small voice from behind them. The two brothers turned in unison to face the speaker.
"Why?" asked Esme, her beautiful face full of hurt. "Is something wrong?"
"There are other hunters on the way," explained Sam.
"We just don't want to see you all wiped out," said Dean.
"Let them come, we can fight them," snarled Emmet. Dean glared at him.
"These two happen to be the only family we have left," he snapped. Emmet looked a little ashamed. Esme put a hand on his arm.
"Emmet didn't really mean any harm," said Esme fondly. "It's just…well…we don't want to see you leave."
"Yeah, well, Sam and I don't want to see you burn," countered Dean. Esme looked crest fallen.
"Couldn't you just tell them that you're alright?" she asked, hopefully. Dean shook his head.
"No," he said. "Bobby would have wanted to make it clear that we are okay, and not held captive somewhere by something." Esme nodded, crestfallen.
"Here," said Alice, appearing by Dean. She handed him his phone.
"Wha…what were you doing with this?" asked Dean, holding the phone closer to his face.
"Nothing, just programmed all of our numbers into them," replied Alice coolly.
"Oh, um, thanks," said Dean, looking embarrassed for once. Sam cleared his throat.
"Let's go, Dean, before Bobby and Ellen show up," he said, heading to the door.
"Well, come back and visit!" exclaimed Renesme, who appeared in the room with Jacob not far behind her.
"Whenever we're in the neighborhood," said Dean, smirking. Renesme smiled.
"You better," she threatened. Sam nodded and pulled Dean out of the house.
Through the front of the house, they could still see the Cullens standing around in the living room. Sam made to get in the driver seat, but Dean pushed him out of the way.
"I'm driving," he huffed. Sam threw him the keys.
"Whatever, let's go," said Sam, getting in on the passenger side. Dean started the Impala up, and together, the two brothers drove away from the vampyres.
