Fragment – chpt 10
by: sifi
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"… no see that's part of the problem… I don't remember… I just know the article had pictures… like a rack for a pool table… balls, heh... uh…spheres… different colors to illustrate different, strings, strands… possibilities…" he tried to pull the information from his mind, he could see it but just couldn't seem to get the phrasing right. The librarian, a woman who looked like she'd attended church regularly all her life and had probably spent many an afternoon 'shush ing' rambunctious children in the Kids section cocked her head and exhibited some of the patience that seemed to roll off of her.
"Maybe it'll help if you can think of a category…" she suggested kindly.
"Yes!... Science… theoretical science… expanding universe stuff… infinite…uhg.. infinite… possibilities…. nothing in two places at the same time.. Jeez I feel like a chimpanzee trying to write Shakespeare!" he groaned with a weak smile.
"Was it a periodical?" she asked with a chuckle.
"Mmmm monthly mag I think or maybe quarterly… not sure which…"
"Okay, that would be maybe… Omni? Scientific American? Discovery Magazine?... any of them sounding familiar?" she asked.
"Yeah…" Dean nodded scratching his head while his mouth bowed down into a frown, "… but which one… damnit Laura! This is all your fault…" he smiled awkwardly when the woman before him frowned questioningly, "…Uh… my… girlfriend? I guess she's my girlfriend, I mean she's a girl and she's my friend… well more than that… I mean so much more… you couldn't believe what she's…and I really do…" he stopped short and cleared his throat, "Yeah, anyway… she's into all this theoretical physics and multiple universes…Gah! That's it! MULTIVERSE!... Oh man… Oh man… which one was it…"
The librarian smiled hugely, amused by his confusion and queried the computer. A scant second later she looked up into his handsome expectant face and thought, what I wouldn't have given to inspire a look like that in a man at that age… "That would probably be Scientific American, they seem to have the most articles of that nature… but which month and year?" she asked grinning hugely at him.
"How many of them do you have?" he asked grinning sheepishly.
--
"Sam? Sammy…" he smiled while dropping a hand onto his little brother's shoulder.
Sam's eyes flapped open on butterfly wings and the faintest smile tilted his lips, "…shouldn't be here… feebs are watching me…"
"I know…I got one of the nurses to report a sighting down on Main and Higman…" he grinned.
Sam shook his head, his brows knitting into that trademark curious look that told Dean his brother was going to be alright after all, "…ow?" he breathed.
"I stopped for coffee… she was getting coffee…" he nodded brushing his brother's hair off his face, "Man Sam… I am so sorry… I couldn't… there's something going on here… something big and wrong… and I couldn't stop myself from standing up… on a positive note I don't feel like I'm going to birth an Alien through my peter any time soon any more… so that's gotta be good!"
"Stone?…" Sam muttered grinning with those mile deep dimples that could get women sighing happily at the slightest flash.
"Ooh… never thought about that…" he shifted his 'furniture' gently, "Hurt like hell though…whatever it was…"
"…so you're not crazy now?" Sam slurred grasping his brother's hand.
Dean squinted an eye and pursed his lips, taking a mental inventory, "Not that I know… but then again… y'never know…"
"…said there was a light…" Sam mumbled, his eyes fading and his grip loosening.
"Oh yeah… dude it was really pretty… kinda white and blue-ish… but in a good way not in a Blue Meanie kind of way…"
"…Mmmm lovely glove…" Sam smiled squeezing his big brothers' hand, "…go Dean… go… they're coming…" and sleep took him.
Dean's eyebrows arched and he shrugged with his mouth, "Dude oughtta get you stoned more often…" he smiled slipping from the room and out onto the street. Alright… whatever's happening here… since I'm the dipshit that took geekboy out of the equation, I guess I need to do my own research… he sighed, Library Hooo oooh! he could almost feel his arm in the air, leading his own mental wagon train to whatever answers he might be able to find.
--
Sam had been back and forth to the bar for more than three hours and Dean still hadn't shown. He checked the time again and dialed his brother's cell phone, again he got the generic recording, beyond the service area! I can't believe there's still such a thing! Come on Dean! Where the hell are you? And more importantly, are you okay? he wondered swigging on his beer with his eyes on the door.
He wondered if he should go back to the motel, maybe Dean had returned after all. He'd checked the hospital, inquiring about any John Doe brought in with a head wound, still no luck and he'd been at the Sheriff's station most of the afternoon so he was certain he hadn't been arrested.
He tilted the last of the beer down his throat as the door opened and the filthy figure of his brother hobbled into the bar, nodding at him curtly. He swallowed wrong and the beer coursed down the wrong pipe.
Dean gimped to him frowning and started pounding on his back, "Dude that's twice, what's up with you?"
Sam waved him off and motioned for a couple more beers while taking in the dirt and mud caked visage before him, "What the hell happened to you? Where've you been? I've been trying to call you for three hours!"
Dean reached into his pocket and slapped a handful of mud and cell phone parts onto the table.
"AGAIN! What is it with you!" Sam asked smiling but still mystified, Dean had been having the worst luck with cell phones lately.
He shrugged sheepishly and took the beer that was set before him then finally sat across from his little brother, "We got a problem…" he said quietly.
Sam leaned in, "Big?"
Dean nodded.
"Demon big?" he asked.
Dean shrugged, "I don't know," he admitted with wide troubled eyes.
"Then why are we sitting here drinking beers?" Sam asked swinging his jacket on.
"Uh… because I'm thirsty… I've been walking the perimeter, then back and forth from there to the town hall to the library and back again at least twice in the last five hours Sam… I'm hungry, I'm thirsty and in case you didn't notice I took a header into a bog and I'm soaked to my shorts…" he smirked.
"How's you head?" Sam asked suddenly.
Dean shook it, "Fine… OH! yeah the… stuff…"
"Yeah, the 'stuff'… anything new?" Sam asked.
Dean shook his head yes/no, "Sick stuff Sam… you don't wanna know…" he gulped down more of his beer.
"How 'bout your belly?" Sam asked.
"Dude what is this twenty questions? I'm fine… must've passed a stone or something… hey long as I'm not peeing pink anymore I'm fine…"
"WHAT!?" Sam demanded furiously, this was the first he'd heard of any physical signs of anything.
"Relax… it was just a couple times and we've got more important things to worry about than me popping out a kidney stone or something," he winced and shifted grimacing, no way in hell I'm telling you the truth on this one little bro… you're jumpy enough… "Hurt like a muther though I'll tell you that for sure!"
"Alright… you're sure you're okay?" Sam put his concern on the back burner to let it simmer, but you can bet your stones we're coming back to this Dean…I need you! and I need you healthy!
"Sam!" Dean barked softly.
"Okay okay… so what'd you find out?"
Dean grabbed both bottles of beer, stuck one into his jacket pocket and rose to his feet with a sigh, "Come on…" he led Sam out into the early evening sunshine, "Y'know technically I'm only two hours late, we said we'd meet at three it's only 5:15 y'know…"
"So I got done early," Sam elbowed him as they walked down Main leaving the impala behind.
"You have no concept of time…" Dean teased and burst out laughing, his head full of things he'd read that would be more well suited to a conversation with Ash rather than Sam.
"You do realize you're being a complete freak don't you?" Sam asked as Dean guided him through a series of alleys and side streets until they reached the edge of the surrounding forest.
"Hey just trying to take some of the load off your shoulders…" he grunted with a good natured shove.
--
"You said perimeter Dean…perimeter of what?" Sam asked about three miles into the woods.
"The… event horizon I guess you could call it…" he pointed to a twisted couple of small tree limbs braced against a trunk, "There's the first one I found."
"First one what?" Sam asked.
"Come on geek-boy…you think I'm gonna ruin the surprise now?" he snickered but Sam stopped in his tracks and turned to face him frowning deeply.
"Dean walk in front of me," Sam stepped to the side and motioned him forward.
"What?" Dean asked.
"Walk in front of me… You're the one who had me hide the weapons, you're the one asked if you shot me, you're the one who's been 'seeing' what you're calling horrible things that you won't tell me about… and you're the one who hasn't been sleeping…" Sam pointed out.
Dean nodded, "Valid point…" he moved to the marking he'd made and moved it aside, making sure to keep his empty hands visible to his brother at all times. He was a little taken aback by Sam's paranoia, even if he had instilled it himself, but he was glad his little brother was being diligent just the same. He knelt at the mound and pointed to something the color of pale flesh, it was small, about the length of Dean's forearm and looked jointed. "There's not even any insects chowing on it… no sign of predation at all even though it's definitely starting to rot and should be half gone or more if from nothing other than insects…"
Sam stepped closer frowning, unsure if it was some kind of ruse or what, "It looks like part of a doll Dean… what're you…Oh man!" he cringed straightening up quickly as his brother fanned a palm-load of rot scent toward him, "Okay… so it's not a doll… is it a kid?"
Dean spocked his eyebrow at his brother and pursed his lips, "Dude… would you LOOK at this thing? I'm not going to hurt you…"
Sam breathed deep and nodded, Well… even if he does try something it won't be the first brawl we've gotten into… I can give him a run for his money… Sam thought and crouched next to his big brother paying close attention to his guts, trying to listen to his instincts for any hint of anything amiss.
"Is that hair?" he asked looking at Dean who nodded.
"Think Sam… who do we know…" he started.
"The Sidhe?" Sam asked remembering the tiny warriors that had stood their ground at Bobby's house, protecting Bobby, Dean and John while he'd slid a dagger into Laura's throat. Of course he hadn't quite been himself at the time, but when it was all over the Sidhe warriors had brought them all together again and left them with a sense that things would turn out just fine.
"I'm pretty sure…" Dean frowned sitting down with his arms over his knees, "… there's Faerie folk parts all over the place… and it's all along the perimeter from what I can tell…just based on the geometry and degree of curvature, I'm guessing the event horizon has to be about fifteen miles in circumference…" he sighed and watched Sam examine the limb a little more closely before moving upwind of it and sitting next to him.
His hand snaked into Dean's jacket pocket and pulled out the beer. He downed half of it quickly and handed the rest to his brother who finished it.
"Okay… do you have any idea of what exactly this is an event horizon of?" he sighed looking into Dean's eyes.
"Oddly enough Professor… I think I do…" he smiled somberly and withdrew a few dozen sheets of paper from his other inside jacket pocket, "They're a little soggy… but thankfully still legible," he handed them to Sam and watched his little brother's expression run the gamut while he skimmed the article titles and highlighted points as he browsed the pages.
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tbc.
Not much action, not much sick… sorry.
Please R&R anyway, would love to know what y'all 're thinking right now.
thanks.
sifi .