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Dean flinched in surprise and swung towards the shattering sound. The normal human instinct was to cover the delicate ears, but Dean was not normal. His first thought was how to protect Sam and the added burden of Aurora. At the moment Sam was more of an encumbrance to this battle as Dean supported Sam's lanky frame. He tried to balance his brother over his one shoulder and retrieve his weapon with the other hand. He wasn't even sure what a Lilin was, but it couldn't be all that good considering how other men had died.
To his amazement, Aurora, shaking and unsteady, aimed her shotgun. The flash from the barrel spilled out as the bullet made travel toward her target. Em's shoulder bounced back in an abnormal snap. Cracking her shoulder back in line, she screamed again and was answered by similar shrieks from far in the distance. Dean didn't need anyone to tell him that those shrieks meant reinforcements were about to descend into this battle.
"No!" Aurora eeked in disillusioned horror.
Dean was aiming his gun at the shrill maker's chest preparing to slow her down with his own firestorm.
"No, you have to hit them in the head!" Aurora screamed as she fumbled to reload. The shaking in her hands made it difficult to grip the small projectiles in the chambers.
Dean refocused his aim. His gun snapped with a loud thunder boom as he pulled the trigger. The shrieks from beyond grew louder. He didn't know how many of whatever the hell ever was out there, but he wasn't prepared for battle with an injured Sam.
"Run!" He pivoted and sprinted with Sam bouncing hardly against his back. He didn't see his bullet smack into the center of his target's head.
An ebony blood splattered against the aged wooden slats of the barn. Aurora jarred as the body hit and splashed into the sodden earth. The body crashed and began to writher in a spastic twitch before it decomposed before Aurora's eyes. The flesh rotted upon the skeleton frame of the Lilin's body and the strange scream halted and faded. Aurora stared blankly, feeling her own body lurch in nausea and lightheadedness.
"RUN, Damn it!" Dean screamed without turning. "Move it or I'm leaving you." For once, he considered that he just might follow through with one of his empty threats, still stinging from the blow to his head and the fact that a chic had driven his car.
Aurora glanced long enough to see the last of the bubbling Lilin flesh, followed shortly by the need to spill the contents of her stomach in utter disgust. The unearthly shrieks beyond finally snapped her to follow Dean's order. A deafening lament howl blustered and seemed to shake the ground between Dean's feet, as if they others were aware of their fallen sister. He knew it was his body's response to the sound or the injury to his head, but his knees wobbled as if ground was shifting. Aurora began to beat Dean's pace. Sprinting ahead of him, she scaled the small incline of the hill and swung the back door open in hysteria before she crossed to the driver's side to open the adjacent passenger door. Heaving Sam as gently as he could in this rush, his hand guided Sam's head to the seat. Aurora was already pulling Sam's shoulder to guide him in quickly.
Slamming the back doors in unison, Aurora searched her pockets for the keys. Panic began to fill her once again. Dean dangled and rattled the keys in his hands. She didn't question him, but ran to the passenger side. Both of them jumped in. The sounds still bellowed below them. As she slammed the door, she noticed two figures coming quickly. Thankful, Dean was already jumping into the driver's seat. He started the car and shot out of the area so quickly Aurora and Sam both lurched.
As he sped away, watching to see if they were being followed, his blood boiled. Somehow having control of his car again reminded him the lady next to him was in need a good smacking. The thought of bending her over his knee crossed his mind, but that only created another image in his mind. The overpowering way he felt around her seeped in. Refusing to let himself be swayed, he told himself this was not time for delicacy or sympathy. "What the hell, did you think you were doing!?! You could have gotten Sam and I killed. You could have gotten yourself killed!" Dean's rage filled him. He turned to continue his rant face on, but Aurora's small frame was hunching and shaking next to the door.
Dean's voice trailed off, even though his anger festered in a rolling boil. It didn't matter what he said at the moment, she wouldn't hear him. The shock of what had just happened had slammed upon Aurora. His head shook in vexation and annoyance. His body responded to this ferment by pressing the pedal harder. Checking behind him, Dean could see distance headlights following them.
Uncomfortable silence lingered inside the Impala, making the seconds seem like hours. A silence that's lifespan was doomed to a brief end. Cursing when he spied an upcoming fork in this path, his anger seethed as he realized he had no idea of which way to go. His arm reached out and shook Aurora's trembling form.
A rumble of hostility sprang from him "HEY! Which Way?!!!" He nudged her harder. "WHICH WAY!?"
She startled and finally whimpered out, "Left"
Dean guided the Impala sharply into the left lane. The machine gracefully arched in the lane under his control.
Aurora had stopped shaking, but her quietness still persisted. She glanced down unable to look at the man next to her. She still had no words to give him. The headlights glaring behind them, gave her pause to open her mouth. Finally, she turned to Dean. "Turn right at the next turn. I know how to lose them."
Dean eyed her suspiciously, not ready to follow any advice this novice could give him.
Aurora met his stare face on. Her false bravado had fallen by the wayside and her eyes glimmered with sympathy and confidence. This was one thing she knew with clarity.
Dean jerked in a sarcastic chuckle when he realized that she was challenging him to trust her. Somehow, her eyes told him she actually knew something he didn't. As much as his anger pained him to not listen, his gut told him to allow her to lead him. As the turn approached, the sharp angle would have sent a novice driver into the ditch, but the Impala transgressed the hairpin turn under Dean's guidance without a hitch.
"Now left up ahead" She directed diminutively. Staring at the control that Dean possessed filled her with shame. Her head jerked down and her gaze lingered at the floor board.
Dean steered the Impala per her directions.
"Now left again in about...uhh...500 feet." She glanced up briefly at him, but averted her view back just as quickly.
A smile curled on side of Dean's lip as Aurora lightly provided directions. Her tone was soft as an almost lullaby. He was still angry, but grateful that at least she was smart enough to not be giving orders to him. Following Aurora's latest directive, Dean waltzed the Impala again in a graceful turn. He glanced back at the road behind him to find only darkness. His body sent out an unintentional sigh.
Aurora had kept her eyes transfixed so long to one spot, the outline had etched into her retina even when she blinked. Dean's sigh surprised her. When she chanced a glance at him, his posture had changed. His shoulders were still strong, but not rigid. She had no idea how he could cope with all of this in such restraint, much less appear to be calm. "Right at the next turn in about 1000 feet". Her eyes took in all of him, noticing the way man and machine melded into a perfect team. Her body shuddered as she took him all in. She hated the way she felt so powerless in his presence. She hated that he was always in her face. She hated that he made her feel something more than anger.
Dean didn't acknowledge her gaze, although aware of her presence and her current emotional state at all times. His trained eyes darted over multiple views keeping him alert and updated on all around him. Years of his father's training took over. Every few seconds, he would shift his focus among the road ahead, the road behind, Sam's current condition, or Aurora's condition. His hands obeying Aurora's directives without thought.
"Turn left up ahead. From there, you will know where you are."
Dean spun his hands to make the final turn. "I'll be damned!" he spouted as he realized she had taken him straight to her road. Dean pressed the Impala to chug on, even thought he and his baby were reluctant to travel this path again. His arrival to familiar territory heightened his concern for Sam. Glancing into the back seat, Dean surmised his brother had regained steady breathing, but he wouldn't be happy until his brother opened his eyes.
As Dean opened his mouth to speak, Aurora prepared herself for the ass chewing, but again the same low, pleasing tone spouted forth.
"Crawl over the seat and check on him." His voice was requesting. Aurora tilted her head in more confusion, not sure which of Dean's reactions were the honest ones. She was ill prepared for the battle she faced with the Lilin. She was even more ill prepared to face the man in the driver seat.
"Please" rolled out in a quiet plea. The crackle in his last word was equally a prompt for her, a hope for his brother's safety, and an emotional release for Dean.
The newest timbre in his voice broke her. She had only heard that tone in her own begging for someone to help her and believe her years ago.
"Please…" He pleaded again.
She almost cried hearing the sound of a lost boy in his voice. Obediently, she crawled over the back seat awkwardly as the Impala lurched upon the ruts. The movement didn't stop her from carefully scrutinizing Sam. She hadn't noticed blood earlier, but instinctively she searched for wounds. She double checked his legs to be sure remembering the wounds of her lover ten years ago. Finding no wounds, she shifted him. Sam groaned sleepily. As far as she could tell he was dirty, muddy, and groggy, but not in pain.
"I think he is sleeping? The Lilin's power should wear off in a few hours." She shook Sam lightly, and his eyes rolled opened in small heavy slits. Just as rapidly, his body pulled his eyes closed again.
A spinning and slipping the wheel collapsed into another of rut. Aurora crashed forward and her body slammed against Dean's seat allowing her face to mash into his shoulder. Dean's right arm automatically released from the wheel to balance and steady her. Her sharp inhale from impact filled her with his scent. She breathed him in like the desert missing the rain. Her reaction bordered on uncontrolled.
Dean twitched as her hot breath traveled down his spine. He was not use to being unable to restrain his reactions. He felt a bit unhinged. He was thankful she started to move away from him.
Uncomfortably, she bounced back to avoid Dean's presence. Dean's arm returned to the wheel was if he had no forethought of the action.
Aurora squeezed down in the floor board pretending to check Sam's pulse. Fatigue had started to find annoyance, guilt, distraction, failure, and pain to feed upon. She damned fate again for bringing someone who wanted to rip the secrets that lurked in the black hole sun of her soul. Every emotion had been pitched in slate for so long, only revenge fire flared at the edges. Now, this cocky man wanted to peer into the obsidian. Even his scent- forceful, plain, earthy, and clean- was demanding upon her. She knew he would soon demand an explanation from her; she wasn't ready to give one. Her failure tonight had taken the last light she had burning within her. Failure had even taken and buried revenge from her. She wanted to bask in that defeat until it swallowed her into a depth of nothingness, but this man was not going to allow her peace. She felt like crawling into a ball and crying until nothing was left.
Aurora was deep in her confusion, when Dean eased the Impala to a stop. Unmoving, her body was rigid with expectation of fight or flight. She allowed Dean to make his exit before her limbs relaxed enough for movement. As he swung the back door open wide, she slithered out the other back door in shame and failure. Sprinting up the steps, she entered without glancing back.
The exit had not gone unnoticed, but Dean had more pressing concern at the moment. His hands pressed Sam's neck. Relieved to find a steady pulse, Dean eased his brother out the door. Propping Sam's height against him, he carefully scooted him out. With measure, he arched his brother upon his shoulder and lugged on towards the steps. Fatigue, concern, and hunger crawled at Dean's mood. Aurora's farm wasn't his ideal location of a haven, but he wasn't in the position to be choosy for the moment. Sam needed be assessed and he needed answers. Finally, painstaking effort pulled him up the steps and he crossed the threshold of Aurora's hermit hideaway.
"Couch" she waived Dean forward before she turned away to stoke the embers of a dying fire. Dean allowed her avoidance for the moment out of his concern for Sam. He cursed himself as he felt some part of himself pull towards her. His pain had a way to mess with his mind at the most awkward of times. He half plopped-half guided Sam to the billowy well-worn couch. Sam groaned before his head nestled into the cushioned armrest.
"Sammy," Dean jiggled him lightly and persistently until Sam's eyes opened halfway between sleep and alertness. "Come on, talk to me little brother."
A sleepily drunken sound slipped out. "Deeeeeaan?"
"Look at me, Sam" Dean didn't wait for his brother to obey him, but guided Sam's focus to him by grasping his chin. "Are you okay?... Pain?... Come on Sammy!" Dean jiggled Sam's chin.
Encouraged by the half slits eyes becoming wider, Dean added more pressure to his prompts. "Sammy!" His voice became more urgent as he slipped his hand to Sam's face and tapped lightly. Sam jolted and tried to shake off the drunkenness he felt over his crashing body.
"Dean," his voice groggy but clear, "We have to get out..."
"Easy tiger. We're in the clear for now. Pain?"
Sam managed a head nod. "I couldn't control.. couldn't stop myself….. couldn't get awa..." Sam winched as the attempt to move shot a cramp up his arm.
"Okay... okay. Easy now. You look okay. Your heart and respirations are good. You okay?" Even though Dean had assessed Sam with expert skill passed down from his father, he found himself still wondering about his brother.
Sam wiggled his head and his eyes started to feel the urge to close. "So tired."
With that reaffirmation, Dean was satisfied Sam would be okay. He adjusted Sam's head to rest easily upon the armrest. Sam's hand pulled his brother's sleeve. "Dean, they knew about us...brothers... coming after you too...how did..."
"Okay, easy. We'll figure it all out. I have a feeling, when you wake up, I'll have some answers." He shot a glance at Aurora's back. She still poked at a now roaring fire uncomfortably avoiding his gaze. Refocusing on Sam, he gently urged, "Go to sleep."
Heaviness dragged over Sam's deep hazel portals and pulled him into a deep hazy slumber.
One final glance at the sleeping Sammy was all Dean needed before his hunter instincts took over. He had been at this job too long to be sidetracked for long. The simmering anger he had felt in the car was his new focus. He hadn't planned such a contrasting transition, but the more Aurora poked at that fire to avoid him, the more it torked him off.
Whirling Aurora around to face him so rapidly, his steely locked arms was all the kept her from falling unbalanced. An iron-hard level headed conviction oozed upon his words. "I think it's time you tell me everything. I'm not in the mood for anything less!"
His voice sent shockwaves through her body. The firmness of his relentless grip caused her to stand dumfounded for words. Her mouth agape, she longed for his measure toned. He had been so calm with her that his tone now sparked her defenses.
"Lady, I want some answers! Whatever game you are playing, it almost cost me. And you are just lucky I don't go around smacking women!" Dean knew this was the only way to pry the lid off the powder keg of emotions beneath and he was man enough to lead her down the path. "Now I want answers."