1Chapter Eleven
Sam knew Dean was following in his own sort of way even if he was outwardly questioning Sam's coherency at the moment. Sam pushed his head back against the pillow squirming in the bed as if the simple movements were going to ease the burden of torment coursing through his feet and legs. The suffering ran so deep that Sam rode the tides of consciousness trying to stay afloat. His eyes would open and close as he occasionally dipped below the surface and fought his way right back up to be slapped by another wave of torture. "Dean, what part aren't you following?"
"Pretty much all of it." Dean breathed watching Sam struggling with the consequences of some slap happy spirits form of communication. He understood what Sam had explained. He just wished he was wrong. That this wasn't new ground. That all the answers were laid out in black and white with clarity enough to guide him in the right direction. Dean slid his hand over his mouth breathing in soft against his palm as he finally acknowledged the rationality in Sam's thinking. "Sam, how do you exorcize twelve demons at once? I mean that's what we're talking about here. Not only that but they are out of the circle now so it's not like fish in a barrel any more. Even if we find the place...Spirits aside and yeah they should be put to rest...but we have a bigger problem now."
"They're ten year old corpses Dean. How powerful can they be? They're brittle so if they tried to hit anyone..."
"No...They were powerless in the circle, Sam. I think you forgetting here. Once they get back to full strength...brittle bodies or not they are going to bolster that with their demonic powers...so feeble isn't in the cards and then you have to think about the psychic ones. We'll end up pinned to a wall before we can get the first exorcism off." Dean pointed out as he rose to his feet his hand now rubbing at the back of his neck in contemplation and worry. "There's something else bugging me about this though."
"What?" Sam's hand clenched at the blankets as he seemed to be waiting for the pain medication to kick in. Dean noticed him eyeing the rum as he paced a moment and quickly retrieved the bottle.
"Here." He helped Sam sit up a bit, propping him up against the headboard. Dean thought Sam had passed back out a moment as his head lulled back against the board before he jerked and shook his head trying to keep himself awake. Dean pushed the bottle into Sam's hand receiving a grateful nod as he pulled the top off. "There were 35 missing. Where is everyone else?"
Sam paused the bottle to his lips in mid gulp as his eyes met Dean's. Dean retrieved the bottle from Sam watching as he struggled to get the liquor down. Dean kept going though...trying to point out every nagging jigsaw piece that he could think of. "Not only that...but ok so the psychics had control when they were alive...who has control now?...We have no idea what's at that light house and you and Leah can't exactly take much more punishment."
Sam swallowed again with a half nod as he got choked up on the Rum and almost passed out again from the movement against his feet, the aching stitches in his chest, and his still tender fingers from the broken and missing fingernails. "Gotta agree with you there." Sam whispered once he was able to talk again.
Dean pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek not able to stand watching Sam struggle like this anymore. All he had was a head full of questions and no answers. He wanted to end this and he wanted to let out a powder keg of rage while he was at it...but he had to get them to a hospital. They would sedate them...maybe that would buy him some time. His only reservation was someone having seen his picture plastered all over Tv and turning him before he got the chance to even find a way to end this. That would leave Sam and Leah wide open with no one left to protect them...until Bobby got there.
Dean was hating every available option. "Right." Dean finally got out as he grabbed Sam's bag of clothes and started going through it for an ID. "Uh I need a story...something that isn't going to bring the police in."
"A story?" Sam asked in a slur.
"Yeah for the hospital." Dean nodded.
"I think our condition alone is going to raise enough suspension for questioning, Dean." Sam scoffed as the pain medication and rum from earlier was clearly in his system now. Dean was just waiting for the rest of it to kick in so he could see some relief cross Sam's face.
"Right." Dean nodded pausing only a second to consider that as he removed most of the weapons from Sam's bag.
"Just drop us off." Sam finally got out. "I'll get us in the door...and you'll be out of sight."
"I can't do that." Dean half laughed at the absurdity of that. He wasn't letting them out of his sight.
"Dean, you have to." Sam knew it was true as sure as Dean didn't want to give it credence. "If you get arrested..."
"Then I'll bust out."
"And if you can't."
"I will." Dean replied his voice rising in anger. "Look there aren't any good resolutions here, Sam. Now I'm not letting some half bit doctor who doesn't know what's happening go to town on you and not be around in case the spirits decide to send you another revelation. And someone has to keep an eye on Leah too. If you have a vision...and she blinks...then I have to be there to find out what you saw so I have some clue where to find her or keep someone else from realizing that she is gone. I cannot just drop you two off." Dean's voice kept getting louder the longer that he went on and he finally broke off on the last word his frustration playing into a whole other realm of frustrations that Sam was used to seeing his brother shoulder.
"Dean, you can't do it all." Sam pursed his lips together as he shifted uncomfortably again. "You can't protect me and her and kill them all by yourself."
"I know that!" And that's what was pissing Dean off the most. That he needed someone else. That he really couldn't do this one by himself...that he had to actually rely on some measure of hope and wishes to bring Sam and Leah through this in some way. "Come on. I'm going to get you in the car." Dean had given it enough of a pause as the silence settled over them following his outburst. He needed to just keep moving...keep busting the solutions one at a time.
Leah moaned softly but Dean didn't hear it over Sam's sob choked cry from Dean shifting his brother weight into his arms. He was trying to keep from jostling anything and it wasn't working.
Leah's eyes rolled open in a haze of flashing lights and she instantly yet slowly rolled her bottom lip and muscles of her jaw around in a circular motion bringing her good hand to her face with another moan. Her infinite wisdom was going to get her killed one day...she was sure of that. Right now the solutions seemed to bring as much pain as the problems and she was still a little dazed to play connect the dots as she slowly pulled herself into a sit on the bed.
This was a kicker. Her other jobs related to her blinking, all fifteen of them, were not near so painful. She could count on one hand how many times she actually been threatened by her blinks. Though the number was growing exponentially during this case and what absolutely bugged her the most was that she still didn't know what the hell she was supposed to do to help these guys. Hell she didn't even really know what was going on. And she wasn't sure she wanted to.
"Going somewhere?" Leah whispered and instantly flinched as she felt the pain waver through her jaw.
Dean turned still holding Sam and they both seemed to gasp in unison. "Dammit you got go back under." Dean got out in a rush not sure he could handle it if she suddenly disappeared again.
"Yeah you wanna hit me or ya want Peaches there to." Leah nodded to Sam as she said Peaches and saw his lips turn up at the corner through his own pain at that. "Might make ya feel better." Leah kept on glad to see even the semblance of a smile against Sam's lips after what he had already endured.
"You think you can stay there long enough for me to get Sam in the car?" Dean asked quickly. He really didn't want to hit her again. It was hard enough an hour and a half ago plus he was pretty sure that he was going to do some damage if this kept up. He wasn't sure that he hadn't already done some...but she seemed like her usual semi-psychotic self so far so he wasn't going to question the first knock out yet.
"Isn't there some other way ?" Sam asked looking from Dean to Leah.
"We don't have time to talk it out Sam..if she blinks she dies...that's where we're at. Hell, Leah just run full tilt into the wall - head first...try to keep the arm out of it as much as you can - see if that does the trick...if you can't knock yourself out then I'll hit you when I get back from getting Sam settled into the car...Then we'll all take a ride to the hospital."
"Righto." Leah nodded without even batting an eyelash. Since when did her life involve differing and swift ways to keep herself unconscious? Maybe she could hold her breath? She had a feeling she would wake to quickly if she did that. She looked to the nearest wall with a sigh as Dean leaned down with a groan under Sam's weight to grab Sam's bag as well. "Why me?" Leah whispered to herself closing her eyes briefly as she started pacing off how far back she thought she needed to be to hit the wall hard enough to knock herself out. There was nothing even remotely comforting about this predicament.
"Just aim and bang." Dean called over his shoulder almost wanting to stay and see if she could do it. He really didn't think she would try it. But as she was apparently going so he was curious to see how it worked out. "I'll be right back." Dean called out as she nodded still eyeing the wall wondering if she had what it took to run head long into a wall with the intention of rendering herself unconscious.
Dean turned back to the door as Sam rested his head against his shoulder the act of this move obviously taking it's toll on him. That's when he heard it. The slamming of a body into a wall and the sound of plaster busting loose. Dean couldn't help himself as he was still standing inside the door. He tuned to see Leah with her head through the wall. Her body wiggled a bit against the plaster as she put her good hand against the wall with a groan and he heard the muffled. "It didn't work." That almost got him laughing. Things were too weird for words at the moment though.
Dean arched an eyebrow with a shake of his head instead as he suddenly saw the flicker of a spectral shape taking form next to Leah. "Oh hell." He groaned. "Sam." Dean turned all the way around as he gave Sam as much as an explanation as he could by way of offering him visibility before he heard Sam's gasp and thought it was from the pain.
"That's the guy...the killer." Sam got out between clenched teeth all at once as the spectral form began to solidify. Dean knew Sam would forgive him but he still hated to do it. Dean shifted Sam's weight and took the steps back to the bed in a rush before depositing him back there. He grabbed the shot gun beside the bed and raised it just as the spirit began it's usual spill.
"I can make it stop..." The ghostly form began as his hand moved in Leah's direction, though her head was still safely tucked inside the wall for the moment.
"Hey you Manson wanna be...stop this." Dean screamed at him before unloading the rock salt into the bastard.
