Chapter 31
In the past, Vahe had burned bodies on the fire side of the smoker. However, due to Sam's size, the demon knew that that would not be possible. Vahe could simply kill Sam by smoke inhalation; but, the demon wanted Sam to have a painful death and allowing smoke to kill Sam just didn't fit the bill. Eyeing the flames, which were providing the smoke and heat for the smoker, Vahe came up with an idea.
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Sam coughed again and again. His eyes were watering and stinging. His head felt like it was about to explode. The heat and smoke seemed to be acting like a big pillow that was slowly suffocating him. Again, he tried to move around and was unsuccessful.
Sam felt himself losing consciousness. Where was Dean? Didn't Dean know that Sam could use a little help right now? The last time Sam had seen Dean, Dean had been taking pictures of some chicks.
Sam's coughs were now shaking his entire body, as his lungs struggled to keep the smoke from collecting inside them. The young hunter suddenly felt a sense of calmness come over him. It was as though his body no longer felt the need to struggle against the heat and smoke. He felt a comforting warmth come over him, a warmth that wasn't caused by the intense heat that engulfed him. Sam could feel himself starting to drift away, as though he was falling asleep. A part of Sam fought against what was happening; but that part, of him, wasn't strong enough to overcome the effects of the heat and smoke.
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Dean ran to where he knew the smoker was stored. Previously, Dean had savored the meat, which had been made in it. But now, Dean loathed the smoker and prayed that it wasn't being used to cook his brother. As Dean neared the smoker's location, he slowed and looked for any signs of anything unusual. The hunter saw a man, near the smoker, who matched the description of some one who Sam had noticed the previous weekend. Dean also noticed that smoke was pouring out of the smoker and that a large fire was burning, on one side. The hunter knew that there was something wrong with what he saw before him. The Faire was now closed and there was no reason for the smoker to be in use. Realizing that the man had not noticed Dean's arrival, the hunter snuck up behind him and threw holy water on him.
The hunter knew what to do, when he heard the man hiss and saw the steam come off him, where the holy water had made contact. Pulling out the knife, which Ruby had brought out of hell, Dean quickly stabbed the man in the back. The hunter watched as a black cloud of smoke exited the man's mouth.
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Vahe was getting ready to move on to the next step of his plan, when he felt a burning sensation on his back. Uncontrollably, a hiss of pain came out of his mouth. But before Vahe had a chance to turn around and discover the source of his discomfort, he felt a stabbing pain in his back. Less than a second later, he was forced to exit the body, which he had been possessing, and was on his way back to hell.
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Allowing the once possessed body to unceremoniously drop to the ground, Dean turned his attention to the smoker. Swiftly, Dean went to the device and opened the end, which was spilling out smoke. Dean was forced to step back, by the heat and smoke that exited, when the lid was lifted. While coughing and waving the smoke away from his face, Dean stepped towards the smoker and looked inside. Despite the intense heat, Dean felt his heart freeze. With the knife, which had just been used to get rid of the demon, Dean quickly cut the ropes which bound Sam to the smoker's interior.
"Sam?" Dean asked. Sam looked pale and did not respond. A stray tear rolled down Dean's face, which Dean easily blamed on the smoke. After the ropes were cut, Dean quickly wrapped his arms around Sam's upper body and dragged his unresponsive brother out of the smoker.
"Sam?" Dean asked again, as he laid his brother's motionless body on the ground. Swiftly, Dean went about checking for a pulse and tried to confirm that his brother was breathing. Dean turned his head and lowered his ear towards Sam's face. This way, Dean could look at Sam's chest for any movement and use his ear to listen and feel for any air movement through Sam's mouth. A loud, welcome cough resounded in Dean's ear. Dean's fingers found a weak pulse, which gradually grew stronger the more Sam coughed.
Dean kept a hand on Sam's chest, as his younger brother was racked with a long bout of coughing. Dean quietly spoke words of encouragement and comfort to his brother. For what seemed like eternity, Sam coughed without making any effort to open his eyes and without attempting to interact with Dean. Finally, Dean relaxed, when his young brother opened his eyes and turned to look at his older sibling.
"Dean?" Sam asked hoarsely.
"Take it easy. Just focus on taking some deep breaths." Dean stated, with a smile on his face. Dean's heart immediately thawed and began to work again, when he heard Sam say his name.
Sam looked questioningly around, as his coughing began to slow.
"They're gone." Dean said, after he assumed that Sam was looking for the demons.
"They?" Sam was surprised by the use of a plural pronoun.
"Yeah." Dean nodded his head. "There were two demons. I got both of them."
"The one who got you…"
"Is gone." Dean stated. Secretly, Dean prayed that he was telling the truth and that there had only been two demons at the Faire and that he had killed his tormentor.
"Good." Sam said weakly. Closing his eyes, Sam focused on his breathing and was relieved that his coughing was diminishing.
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Monday afternoon, Dean left Sam and Asaph at the hotel and went to grab them some lunch. Sam was feeling better, but still had a nagging cough. As Dean exited the restaurant with their order, he saw Castiel near the Impala.
"You did well." Castiel stated. "A new guardian, for Asaph, has been found and will stop by your hotel room tonight"
Dean walked past the angel, as though ignoring his presence and put the food into the car. Before climbing into the car himself, Dean stood up and turned to face Castiel.
"You think one will be enough. This last time, there were two demons gunning for him." Dean stated. "Seems to me like it might be wiser to add a few more bodyguards to his detail."
"We're spread thin already. We can't afford to assign any one else to the task." Castiel paused. "Why, were you thinking about volunteering and staying with him a while longer?" Castiel asked with a raised eyebrow.
Dean paused, as he considered the question.
"You have your own job to do and that no longer requires you to watch out for Asaph. You need to move on now." Castiel said without emotion. "Asaph is still alive and able to do his job. You need to move on and continue with yours."
"And what exactly…" Dean began. A horn blared behind him and Dean turned to see what was going on. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Dean turned his attention back to the angel, only to find that Castiel was gone.
The next morning, the brothers said good-bye to Asaph and wished him well. Soon after that, they hit the road and were on their way to their next hunt.
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Sitting in a car, which was parked in a parking lot along a major highway, the driver noticed the Impala, containing the Winchesters, drive by heading out of the county. For a second, the observer's eyes turned black, before returning to their regular color. Did this mean that the boys were done playing at the Faire? Two experienced demons had failed to kill the seer. The observer knew this, since he too had been at the Faire over the weekend and witnessed Dean terminating the demons' time on earth. Thus far, demons had only succeeded in determining who wasn't the seer, by slowly killing people. The observer started his car and headed back to his hotel. He would be back at the Faire the upcoming weekend and would try to succeed where other demons had failed. His job was to find the seer and kill him, before any more of the demons' plans could be foiled.
Writer's note: Feedback and reviews are always appreciated. If you enjoyed the story, please let me know. If you have constructive criticism and feel that there are things that I could have improved upon, please let me know. Thank you for taking the time to read my story.