Chapter 9

Andrea Willis stood stewing in her complete and total fury as she tried to think of some awful, hateful thing to say about the elders, that she hadn't already mentioned in the last ten minutes.

Shane Barklay sat in silent awe at the sheer number of tremendously spiteful things that he had been subjected to in the last ten minutes, simply by the hearing of them. It made him feel somewhat diminished…which was a hard thing to accomplish.

"They…those…how…the nerve!" The petite blond stormed about in the confines of the tiny lunch room at the back of the town library with the ferocity of a caged lion. Shane just stayed quiet, in an attempt to simply stay out of the path of destruction. He had been paired with Andrea since the time of his induction into the Order of Protectors, a year ago. He had since learned that looks were incredibly deceiving, and that the small framed woman pacing the floor in front of him could take him down in short order, if she had a mind to. Which was something he wasn't willing to chance at the moment.

He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, "Andrea…they're old geezers with an old fold up table and some old candles. Give it a rest, huh?"

She stopped her rampage long enough to grace him with a look of complete disgust. "Shane, seriously? 'Just give it a rest?'" Her voice had risen to irritating squeal of sorts that Shane found to be most annoying. "They mocked me…in front of everyone! Like I'm some first year, pee-on cadet with no training!" She screeched.

He sighed. She had a point…but then again so did the elders. But he would be suicidal to say that at this point. So, he settled for a shrug and a partial grin that wouldn't have fooled a second grader. "Yeah, you're right. But I guess it'll just make it that much more fulfilling when your plan works."

His words struck a rather pleasant chord in her. "Hmmm...Yeah. Then the hunters and the elders will get what's coming to them." She stated, her voice about three octaves lower than it had just been. The sound made Shane shiver a little. Andrea could be downright creepy sometimes.

Not that Shane wasn't accustomed to creepy by now. He had lived his entire life, until two years ago, in Roswell, New Mexico. He had been interested in the supernatural since he was seven years old, when his mother had disappeared mysteriously. After that, he had gone to college here in Ohio, and had really only been introduced to the Order because they offered to pay his tuition. A scheme, he now realized, to lure younger, faster, and more capable bodies into the Order, now that the elders could compete with the Triassic Period for age.

He remembered well the truck-load of training they put him through, just to make sure that he qualified to be considered as a member. But that had been easy, compared to how hard they made it to get out again…

Presently, Shane was jerked out of his past life with the realization that the screeching had returned en masse, only this time it wasn't about the injustice of Andrea's treatment at the meeting. No, this time, there was a hint of fear in her voice as she stood at the entrance to the back room, hands fisted in her hair.

"Oh, no-no-no-no-no!"

"Andrea, what's wrong?" He asked, getting up from his spot at the tiny round table in the center of the room. He walked to where she was, concerned about his partners behavior.

But as the room beyond her came into view, he stopped short at the shocking scene, his face a portrait of disbelief.

Books lay scattered in every direction, pages torn and strewn from one end of the library to the other. Shelves that had once been in perfect order where now toppled over like dominoes, and even the computer desks were in shambles.

Andrea's desperation began to infect him as he felt himself beginning to lose his grip on his trademark placidity. Questions began to tumble end over end in his brain, as though they were in a race to see which one could drive him insane first.

'Who did this?'

'How could this happen when we were right here?'

'Wouldn't we be able to hear something like this going on?'

'Did the hunters escape?'

'Is this some kind of punishment from the elders?'

As the questions came crashing over him like a waterfall, Andrea turned to him, her face as pale as the moon. At that moment the trashed library came to life, books flying of their own accord in haphazard patterns. Desks and chairs scraped across the floor as they moved from one position to another, seemingly being dragged by an unseen force.

"Oh… my… God." Andrea whispered, her brown eyes full of shock. "I know what's happening…"

Shane blinked at her, confusion, panic, and utter disbelief fighting for residence on his features.

But all at once, it made perfect sense. And all it took was two simple words.

"It's him."

Dean honestly felt as though ice cubes were forming in his veins, or that his skin would shatter if touched…it was that cold.

He had long since discovered that their steel trap was as air tight as a space station. He was beginning to really worry about their situation, ever since he had tried everything from shouting and banging on the walls, to using his knife to try and cut their way out. Nothing worked.

Sam's gun was useless, since it was as waterlogged as its owner, and Dean's own gun was in the hands of 'little-miss-bookworm-psycho-of-the-year'.

Sam's breathing had slowed, and was now about as shallow as it could get without him being in a coma.

The lights in the elevator had long since given up the ghost, and Dean noticed that the water gave off an eerie fluorescence that bathed the two prisoners in soft blue light, despite the fact that they should have been in total darkness. The freezing water seemed to dance and flow of its own accord, even as its occupants remained still.

It was downright creepy.

Sam had been convinced that Bobby was right behind them, and that it was only a matter of time before he found them. He had also been willing to argue the point, and Dean had folded, not really wanting to get into an argument with his younger sibling…which seemed to be happening more and more lately since the crossroads deal had been drawn. Besides that, there wasn't really a point in dashing their only solitary hope to pieces…

The more time wore on, however, the more it seemed less and less likely that any help was coming.

Sam was wedged in between the cold steel bar at the back of the elevator and his brother, and he remained only slightly less than comatose. Dean had done his best to keep his brother warm, but he himself could no longer feel anything below his shoulders, and neither brother was capable of intelligent speech anymore.

He fought the urge to fall asleep for what seemed like hours, but whether it was the head trauma from his fight with Andrea, or simply being stuck in freezing water for hours at a time, Dean felt his knees buckle, and he slid beneath the freezing liquid. 'This is it…' Hethought. 'Dean Winchester signing out. It's absolutely hopeless…'

And it was that single thought that abruptly found the two hunters in a sudden change of scenery.

The shock didn't immediately kick in, probably because he was still freezing. It was only when Dean realized that he hadn't drowned yet that something clicked.

With a start, Dean stood up straight, his sandy-colored head popping up from underneath a 3 ft. deep pile...of white…fluffy…snow.

"Son of a…you've got to be kidding me!"