Encounters in a dark alley

Disclaimer: I don't own the guys from Supernatural or their show but I do so like to err play with em.

CHAPTER 11

Jumping up Sam ran to the other room and retrieved the fallen journal, reopening to the page on fire demons he read as he hurried back to Dean. The bathroom fall of steam now became stifling hot but Sam pushed it to the back of his mind, forcing it to burn out the insects invading his body. Dropping to his knees, he started reading aloud:

'I call upon the spirits of the sky - north, east, south, and west.

I call upon the spirits to bring the elements into being.

Bring the rains of the sky upon my brother and

Quell the fire burning within him.

I call upon the spirits to bring the elements into being.

Bring the winds from the north, east, south, and west

Quell the fires burning within him.

I call upon the spirits to bring the elements into being.

Bring the cold of winter to chill the air and

Quell the fire burning within him.

I call upon the spirits to bring the elements into being.

Bring the earth to rise beneath him to smother and

Quell the fires burning within him.

I call upon the spirits of the sky to save my brother from the fires burning within him.'

Heaving a deep sigh Sam sat back against the tiled bathroom wall and watched Dean.

In a low voice he kept repeating, 'I call upon the spirits of the sky to save my brother.' As though those simple words would save them both from their inner torments.

'Sammy? What the? Why am I wet?' Dean spluttered struggling to get off the watery floor, 'mind telling me why you have me in the shower with my clothes on I might add.'

'How are you feeling?' Sam asked ignoring the demanding look on Dean's face, he handed his brother a towel and then turned the cold water tap off.

'Fine, wet through and...'

'And what Dean?' Sam probed a little more, his the worry lines on his forehead deepening with a new frown.

'Kinda spacey, it's weird like I got too close to a fire or something dunno.' Dean went to step out of the shower when he swayed dizzily, 'whoa what's wrong with me?'

'Fire demon attack.' Sam answered as he helped Dean out into the main room and guided him towards the beds, 'strip off, and I'll get you some dry clothes.'

'Dude, hey I didn't know you were into that kinky stuff.' Dean grinned but his smile faded when he saw the dark look in Sam's eyes.

'Well it's not like I haven't see it before.' Sam said with an elegant Gallic shrug before he turned and rummaged through Dean's duffle bag, tossing the clean clothing over his shoulder a piece at a time.

Fully dressed but still feeling weak and dizzy Dean sank down on the bed and let his face drop into his cupped hands, 'okay Sammy start talking, what just happened?'

'I was in the bathroom, when I came out you were gone, I found you outside propped up against the car.'

'My baby?'

'Yeah whatever, anyway you said that you were burning from the inside, it wasn't a fever it was literally like a fire burning you inside out.' Sam pinched the bridge of his nose and tried pushed the nagging voice out of his thoughts before he continued. 'You managed to get out fire demon, I tried icing you first but the ice kept melting too quickly so I took you into the shower and ran the cold water on you. I found a ritual in Dad's journal and tried it. Looks like it worked.'

'Okay, freaking weird shit but okay I can cope.' Dean muttered lifting his head he rolled his eyes up at his younger brother, 'what about you Sammy? Are you doing okay?'

'Yeah ... no, no I'm not.' Sam finally admitted, 'Man Dean all I can do is think about getting another hit, the cravings are so bad they're ripping me apart.' He looked away from Dean and stared down at the blood stained towel still wrapped around his arm, he picked at it absently while he fought to control the urge to gouge those freaking little bugs out of his body – one at a time.

'Sam show me your arm.' Dean said deliberately keeping his voice sounding neutral while he unravelled the towel to inspect the damage. 'Fuck Sammy.'

'Dean I ...' Sam tried to pull his arm away, his face red with shame.

'Okay we can deal with this, you've managed to fight the craving so far ... you're stronger than you think Sam you can do this.'

'No – no I'm not Dean, I mean just now I was more worried about you but I had to constantly fight the voice in my head.' Sam forced each word out as he banged his free fist against the side of his head. 'They won't leave me alone.'

'Sam, Sam listen to me.' Dean put his hand under Sam's chin and made him lift his head up so that their eyes met, 'we are going to get you well, smoke those freaking fire demons, and get the bastards that did this to you. No arguments, no excuses we are going to do this.'

'Do you know just how much you sound like Dad when you talk like that?' Sam managed a grin, 'you look like shit Dean.'

'Yeah well you wouldn't win any beauty pageants at the moment either Sammy.' Dean smiled back as he laid back on his bed, 'Dude my bed's wet!'

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The four demons hovered in the sky watching the building where the Winchester brothers were. The ones the Master wanted back, they almost had one until other humans disturbed them and then the brother came and took him back inside.

'Master wants both.' Hissed one as it focused its burning stare on the black car beneath them, 'Fek, Ful swoop closer to black shiny, Faz with me.'

'As you command Fin.' the three creatures inclined their heads to their leader, Fek and Ful spiralled down closer to the impala while Fin and Faz disappeared leaving only a cloud of acrid black smoke in their wake.

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Sam sat at the table trying to concentrate on the laptop screen, but the words danced in front of his eyes, sighing he rubbed at them and sat back. Wiping sweat from his face he glanced over at Dean sleeping on the drier of the two beds, the sweat ran down his face and neck as well.

The temperature in the room seemed to be rising with each passing second; standing up unsteadily Sam lurched towards the bed and tried to rouse Dean.

'Leave me alone.' Dean grumbled trying to roll away from Sam's grip, 'just a few minutes more.'

'We have to get outta here Dean.' Sam shook his brother again. 'Now Dean.'

The urgency in Sam's voice made Dean open his eyes and stare at his sibling, 'what? It's so freaking hot Sam you okay?'

'We have to get outta here Dean the fire demons, we can't let them destroy the motel and everyone else in here.'

Quickly grabbing their bags and the computer the Winchester brothers ran from their motel room and into the cooler evening air. Panting heavily they hurried to the impala and dropped their belongings on the back seat.

Sam scanned the skyline for signs of the demons while Dean went and paid their bill, they couldn't stay there any longer, now it wasn't safe for anyone.

As they drove away from the motel Dean grimaced and had to pull the car off to the side of the road.

'Dude what's wrong we have to get going?'

'Sorry Sammy, it hurts – my shoulder just need to catch my breath that's all.'

In the hurry to escape the fiery attack they had to ignore the pain of their existing injuries now as their adrenalin rushes receded, they started to feel the full onslaught of the most recent abuse.

The air around the car became thick with the stench of sulphur and ash, choking the brothers, a cloud of acrid black smoke engulfed the car making it impossible for them to drive out of it, their view was non-existent as the cloud became denser and the smell stronger.

Coughing they, tried sealing the car but nothing they did stopped the smoke and stench from permeating throughout the impala. One of the demons appeared at the driver's side window its long talon like claws scrapping down the glass as it taunted Dean, another appeared at Sam's window and started to replicate the other's actions.

'Floor it Dean.' Sam said choking on the smoke.

'The motor's dead Sam.' Dean managed to answer, gasping for breath between each hacking cough.

Minutes later the cloud dissipated and the car remained stalled in the same spot, the occupants both slumped unconscious in the front of the car. The four demons placed themselves at each corner of the car and seemingly lifted it into the sky handling it like it was a weightless toy.

'Master will be pleased.' Fin hissed to the others, drool dripping from its jaws as it twisted its face into a macabre smile. 'Very pleased.'

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Dean opened his eyes and stared around owlishly, blinking furiously his eyes still stinging from the thick smoke. His chest and throat burnt from smoke inhalation and his body felt like he had gone twelve rounds as a punching bag.

He lay on an old mattress jammed against a wall in a windowless room; the only other piece of furniture was an old wooden chair in an opposite corner. 'Sam?' he croaked staring at a shivering figure curled in a tight ball on the floor behind the chair. 'Sammy please answer me.'

The only answer Dean received was a muffled sob; painfully Dean crawled over to Sam and gently touched his shoulder, 'hey Sammy please look at me.'

'Please no more, no more.' Sam wept curling into himself tighter again. His lanky frame shaking with his heartbreaking sobs.

'Sam look at me, it's Dean.' Dean tried again this time reaching out to put his fingers under Sam's chin, making him turn his head in Dean's direction. 'Dude come on look at me I'm not going to hurt you.'

'D-Dean?' Sam hiccuped lifting his head just enough to try to focus on his older brother's face, 'it's not a trick?'

'No man, it's not it's just me.' Dean said sighing with relief. 'What did they do to you Sam? Did they give you more of that drug?'

'No, not this time.' Sam sniffed and uncurled a fraction more so he could sit up, but still wrapped his arms tightly around his bent legs and pressed against the wall. 'I'm okay Dean.'

'Talk to me Sam ... you're not okay.'

Sam tensed at the tone of Dean's voice, visibly flinching away, 'please don't hurt me.'

'I'm not ... I'm not going to hurt you, it's me Dean your brother.'

'They tried to trick me; they said that you were dead, that all I'm seeing is a ghost of you.'

Sam whimpered tears glistened in his too-wide eyes, 'please tell me...'

'I aint no ghost Sammy I'm just Dean your extraordinary big brother.'

'No, no get out of my head.' Sam cried out his hands twisted in his hair as he started to bang his head against the wall.

'Fuck Sam what did they do to you?' Dean cried out reaching across he gripped Sam's shoulders and pulled him forward away from the wall, then he gripped Sam's face, his hands cupping each side and forced Sam to look directly at him. 'Concentrate on me Sam; listen to my voice and no one else.'

'I can hear them Dean, teasing and taunting me, wanting me to take their drugs. Please get them out of my head.' Sam openly wept lost in the terrors they planted in his mind.

'I can't Sam, only you can,' Dean swallowed hard making himself calm down for his baby brother's sake only, 'listen to me I want you to put your shields up. Remember what Missouri taught you, close your eyes – that's it, now concentrate just listen to my voice and put those huge, thick freakin' big shields block the voices out. They can't hurt you now Sam.'

They sat in silence for seemingly hours, Dean in front of Sam cupping his face in his hand refusing to break the contact. While Sam kept, his eyes closed and concentrated on raising his psychic shields.

'What a touching sight – shame it aint gonna work.' The demon taunted the brothers from the doorway, a sneer of disgust plastered on its face. 'Let go of Sam Dean and move away.'

'Get fucked, you fugly mother...'

'I have something for you Sam.' The demon crooned waving a filled syringe in front of himself, 'just for you, ready and loaded.'

Sam opened his eyes and looked over at their tormentor, a calm look on his face, his eyes shining with a renewed confidence, 'thanks but no thanks.' He said his voice low and controlled. 'I don't need it anymore.'

The demon stared at him in shock, he expected to see a slobbering mess curled up on the floor in his own filth desperate for a fix, instead a calm and confident young man faced him, refusing the drugs he no longer craved. With a snarl, the demon snapped the needle in his hand and dropped the fragments of glass into the small pool of the drug on the floor. 'That was a big mistake Sammy a very big mistake.'

'No one but Dean gets to call me Sammy.'

'Ah so the young whelp has a backbone has he? Not that long ago you were begging me to give you a fix, you needed it more than anything else, more than your brother here.'

Dean raised an eyebrow at Sam questioning, but remained silent as he watched and listened to the interaction between his sibling and the Master demon.

'Can you tell me something Sammy? Can you tell me why you would so openly defy me like this?'

'I see things a lot more clearer now,' Sam said trying to stand without falling he kept his gaze fixed on the creature before them. 'I am stronger and no longer need the drugs.' As Sam spoke, his voice grew in strength and volume taking a step closer he swallowed the rising nausea and faced the demon. 'This time we are on equal footing I am no longer an emotional wreck and easy prey.'

'Nice words Winchester but now the anti has just been upped to the level that you can never afford.' The demon stepped towards Sam and waved a hand pinning him against the wall as he concentrated his gaze on Dean. Who still knelt in the same place letting Sam make his own stand, the shields held nicely, Dean sent a silent thank you to Missouri as he stood and started to make a stand of his own.

'So we're back to party games are we?' Dean grinned maliciously, his eyes flickering from the demon to Sam and back again. 'Hasn't that trick been done to death though? Don't you have a new one?'

The demon snarled and wrapped his hand around Dean's neck but instead of squeezing the life from him, he dragged him out of the room, effectively silencing him. When they reached the door, the demon waved at Sam and let him drop lifelessly to the floor and then disappeared through the door pulling the hapless Dean behind him.

Sam lay gasping for air as the invisible force holding him to the wall disappeared, replaced by a burning sensation on his chest.

Crying out in pain, he ripped his T-shirt off and stared down, a large red brand formed on his chest and abdomen. The shape of a perfect circle with a strange looking symbol in the centre of it. The burning of his flesh was the only thing he could smell, his mouth, throat and nose filled with the acrid stench. Choking and gagging him until he heaved and vomited up a black sticky substance.

Two fire demons appeared floating above him, their laughter sounded like hissing gases to Sam as they taunted him. Taking turns to toss small fire-balls at him, their laughter gaining in strength as he tried to shield himself from the fiery balls, huddling against the wall, his chest continued to burn and blister, coughing he turned his back to them, the glowing embers scorching his bare back.

Finally, the pain and terror took their tolls and Sam toppled sideways, the sweet coolness of unconsciousness claiming his burning body, and charred soul. The last thing Sam heard was an agony filled scream, the only thing he couldn't tell was, if it was Dean screaming in another room or was it Sam himself screaming.

TBC