We can stay together. Forever.
Sam's words bounced around through Dean's thoughts. His brother was right...this would solve the lingering problem that had been looming in the back of his mind everyday. He couldn't get into heaven, and if it ever opened up again and Sam got in, they would have been permanently separated.
But Dean had always figured there would have been some way to get himself in there. He never expected for Sam to stay on earth.
"Sammy, you'd be giving up your shot at heaven. Isn't it supposed to be paradise or some shit? I can't let you do that."
Sam's smile morphed into a scowl and he clenched his fists. "Paradise? Dean how the hell can it be paradise if you aren't there with me?"
"Aww, that's awfully sweet Sammy but..."
"Stop." Sam's tone was snippy. "You know what I mean. We don't even know what heaven is like but I don't have a good feeling. Why would I ever want to go somewhere where those angels are in control? They tortured you. You can't be with me and I have no desire to go."
"Even if Dean was ever allowed in," Castiel spoke up. "There would always be unrest with a demon being in heaven. I believe some angel would always be out to kill him."
"See!" Sam waved his arms in the air. "It would never work. But this...me not aging...Dean, it's perfect!" He walked over to Dean and placed a hand on his shoulder, the look in his eyes showed how desperate he was for Dean to agree.
Sam's excitement over the situation was still a bit confusing to Dean. Did Sam realize what he would be giving up? Surely he was only thinking about the benefit of staying together. Once the kid had time to really access the situation, he would see the drawbacks and decide against it.
Not that Dean wanted him to. Hell no. But he had to think of Sammy in this situation. Of what was best for his brother.
"Sam. You forgetting what kind of world we're in? This ain't the old earth and it probably never will be again. We have to fight to survive and nothing is going to be easy."
"I know that. We can handle it."
"What about you being so depressed about this life? You think you can handle an eternity of this?"
Sam didn't get offended like Dean suspected. "I told you that I'm working on that. I realize all the good we have now. I'll be okay Dean. There will always be hope."
Of course Sam would say something girly about the 'hope for the world' but would he still have that outlook when more people continued to drop dead because of the virus?
"This would be forever Sam. You'd be stuck like you are now. Do you have any idea what you'd be giving up? How many people you'd have to see die?"
"It's okay. It's worth it. And besides, do you know how many people we'd get to save, how many people we could help? We were never meant for heaven Dean...I think we were always meant to stay here. We wouldn't belong anywhere else but here...saving people and hunting things."
Okay, Dean was starting to get convinced that this was what his brother really wanted. "You're willing to go through anything this world's gonna spit out at us for thousands of years?"
Sam was still smiling. "It sounds crazy, doesn't it? But yeah. It might be scary but it would be exciting."
"Until the sun eats up the world," Dean pointed out.
"It's the sun dying Dean, expanding and burning out. That's not for five billion or some years."
Dean couldn't stop his smirk from forming. "You'd put up with my demon ass for five billion years?"
"It would be tough, but I think I can manage." There was a sparkle in Sam's eyes that made Dean feel pleasantly happy, in the way only his brother could. Sam was honestly saying he would stay on earth forever just for him...he was more than willing to.
But Dean still couldn't help but worry.
"This world is fucking dangerous Sammy. You wouldn't age, but it's not like you'd be practically immortal like me." He turned to Castiel for clarification. "Right?"
"That would be correct."
"That's okay. The blood did make me stronger. I don't really get sick. I would just have to make sure I don't get hurt or bitten. But I've got you to look out for me, right?"
"Damn straight. And I won't let anything happen to you."
"We'll figure it out," Sam told him. "We'll find a place that we can stay in, that won't be temporary like this hotel. Somewhere that we can build a life and a community that we can sustain."
The whole thing was tempting and pretty exciting if Dean said so himself. He would have his little brother by his side, fighting off Croats and whatever else came their way. Their bodies would be stuck in their late twenties, right in their prime physically.
Speaking of age...
"You just turned 28 didn't you Sammy?" When Sam nodded, Dean grinned widely. "Good. I'm still the big brother. Only one year older instead of four."
Sam huffed, still smiling the entire time. "God forbid I stopped aging a few years later. I'd never hear the end of your pouting."
"And you'd never quit teasing me," Dean shot back. Before the younger brother could respond, Dean focused back on the angel. He had just one more question.
"So this blood is just making him stronger? Giving him some more abilities, right? It's not...I don't know...corrupting him or going to hurt him?"
"I see no signs that your blood is negatively tainting Sam. You are his brother, and thus you share the same blood. Yours being demonic just enhances Sam's body and his powers. Being soulmates benefits him as well." Castiel seemed thoughtful. "I also believe that if Sam wished to age again, he would only need to stop drinking the blood.""
So the familial connection with the blood gave Sam physical strengths and the soulmate thing gave him the emotional ability to connect with Dean telepathically and through dreams. At least that was what Dean figured.
Bottom line was that Sammy was safe. He wasn't in any danger. And if he ever changed his mind, he would just quit the blood drinking and age again. Had they actually got away with a win in life? Something good finally happened without any negative consequences? The world had finally taken a break from shitting on them?
It looked like it. And Dean would greedily accept it.
Sam was in high spirits over the next few days and that mood didn't change when he and his brother journeyed to look for supplies. He had managed to get Dean to wait a few more days before they made their first scavenge trip. All Sam had to do was say that they deserved some time to relax and celebrate the discovery that they wouldn't have to lose each other to have Dean agreeing.
But eventually, Dean got antsy. His happy mood was able to calm down his hyperactive energy for those few days, but the need to get back in the hunt eventually won out.
It was okay though. Dean's arm of course was still broken, but he seemed prepared to hunt in every other way. With Dean not being at a hundred percent, Sam had even convinced him to bring Carl along for extra backup. He doubted they would run into anything extremely dangerous.
They were heading out toward a new area, further into the country. It would be a while before they passed the next small town. Dean had a map open on his lap, directing Sam while he drove.
"So you guys are just going to….live until the end of the world?" Carl asked, sitting in the backseat. The brothers had discussed that they would let anyone who mattered in on their discovery when the time felt right. The only other person they told was Bobby, who said the whole thing was 'crazy as hell' but there had been a smile in his eyes upon knowing the two would never have to live without the other again.
"Looks like it. Cas said that even if heaven was under all new control and they'd be okay with letting my demonic ass in…it would be thousands of years from now," Dean said, squinting down at the map.
"It's crazy…I mean…the Croats were strange enough, but when they first came, I just expected they were zombies. It was unreal but there was always so much lore and talk about them that you quickly learn to accept it." Carl sighed, he sounded sad. "Then there's demons and that…that made me really rethink everything. Not to mention the monsters that I recently found out about….now there's a guy that can live forever by drinking his brother's demon blood. The things you learn at the end of the world…"
Sam had expected Carl to ask more questions and be weirded out by the fact he was drinking Dean's blood. Sure, he had known that Sam had powers before, but no one else but Bobby knew about the blood. Carl didn't even seem that surprised to learn of the news of the blood drinking, and definitely not scared. It was probably because of all the other crazy stuff he had just listed that he witnessed. Blood drinking didn't seem that crazy compared to it, and by this point, Dean was so accepted into the group that no one feared it was dangerous.
"At least your eyes are opened now. Gotta admit, it's kinda nice to not be the only ones that know about the supernatural crap out there," Dean said and Sam had to agree. "Too bad mostly everyone croaked and the world is overrun by Croats." He looked back at the map. "Now what direction are we going in Sammy?"
"South. See any cities on there that aren't marked off?"
"We're running low on towns nearby. There's…"
"There's Doon," Carl spoke up.
Dean turned around to look at the other man. "Doom? Yeah, there's tons of doom all over, that's nothing new."
"No. Doon. With an 'n'. Doon, Iowa. It's…it's where I was from."
There was the crinkling of paper as Dean grabbed the map, his face so close to it that Sam was doubtful he could even make out anything.
"Dude, that town's so small it's almost not even on here. They use like…5 point font on the name."
"It's really small, yeah. Probably small enough that it wasn't even looted. I…I haven't been back since I left with my family to go to Sioux Falls."
Sam hadn't ever heard Carl talk about his family before. He pulled to the side of the road and turned to look at the man. "You left when they announced that there were safehouses in the city?" he asked, knowing all too well that those safehouses had been attacked by demons.
"No," Carl answered. "We didn't think it was safe to go there. We thought being in a small town would be safer. But eventually, we ran out of food. Not many neighbors had stayed but my wife…bless her…she…she refused to go into their houses and take their food."
"That was really fucking stupid," Dean retorted, just as Sam had feared.
Carl didn't seem to get angry. "It was. But she was in denial. She thought they'd be coming back even though it had been months. I went to Luke's house…our next door neighbor...and came back with some cans and she just…broke down. She refused to eat them, cried about how we were losing our humanity…"
"If she only knew about the demons." Dean chuckled darkly.
"That's the thing. We didn't know. One of the powerlines went down in a storm weeks earlier and we stopped getting electricity. We couldn't watch the news to know if it was still broadcasting or not. We had a battery powered radio…but it just kept repeating the same things. The areas in which to stay away from. Signs of the infection."
"Didn't they say the city wasn't safe?" Sam asked.
"They were listing off areas of the city, but my wife was convinced that there had to be areas that were fenced off and safe. She said that there would be much more food and survivors that could help us. So we left. We left with our two daughters."
Carl reached into his jeans' pocket and pulled out a folded photograph. "I always keep this on me." He handed the picture over to Sam.
The photograph showed Carl with his arm around a petite woman. She was in her early thirties, and had long dark hair. She seemed to be part Hispanic and the two little girls, who looked to be no older than seven, had a beautiful mix of both their parents' features with skin a little lighter than Carl's and hair like their mother.
Sam felt himself tearing up at the picture. "They're beautiful," he said sadly, cringing when Dean snatched the picture from him. He didn't need his brother saying anything to upset this poor man…
"That older kid's got good taste," Dean ended up saying and Sam studied the picture a little more, looking at the girl's t-shirt. "Batman's the shit."
Carl burst out laughing, tears in his eyes and Sam loved his brother even more in that moment. Dean wasn't as heartless as he liked to lead on. At least not to people who showed him respect. He could be an ass to Carl, but it had all been in humor. When it came down to the times that mattered, Dean really did try not to hurt him.
"Yeah, she was awesome. They all were." Carl was still smiling while he wiped at his eyes. Sam gave the man credit for being able to even talk about his deceased family, to still be happy and try to live his life to the fullest.
"What happened to them?" Sam asked quietly. "If you don't mind me asking?"
Carl looked down at his lap. "The city wasn't safe. We...with two little girls and a wife who was in denial...we didn't stand a chance. It wasn't even a week before...she had such a hard time killing them. There were a group of Croats...they were going for the girls and I tried...I killed some of them...but she recognized one of them and wouldn't kill it. She ran right into the hoard of Croats to try and grab the girls instead and..."
"They all got bit," Dean finished for him in a flat tone.
"Yeah." Carl swallowed and shook his head. "I had to kill them all. But...but it was better than them turning into one of those things. I had a hard time at first but I met up with others...they had all lost their family. I was just one of many. Then you guys found me and the few others I was with."
"It's a good thing you did man up and shoot 'em before they turned," Dean said, causing Sam to glare at him in horror. "What! It's true. If he killed them after they turned, their souls would be in Hell. At least now there's a chance their spirits are hiding out somewhere."
Oh. That actually made sense.
"You know, I thought that too, when you guys told me about the souls," Carl agreed. "I just hope they're safe…Family always meant so much to me, so it's nice to see that some people still have family alive." He gestured to the brothers. "And that despite even being a demon, you guys get along and stick together. And willing to live forever so you guys don't have to be separated? It's pretty inspiring and helps when I'm feeling down."
Sam smiled at the man, feeling his eyes water. It made perfect sense on why Carl was so accepting of Dean. He hadn't focused on the demon part so much and rather the familial aspect. Dean still being so caring and protective of Sam must have hit a soft spot inside Carl.
"Okay, you guys can gush about how amazing I am later." Dean huffed, slapping the map. "Let's move our asses and get to this town."
Sam didn't bother arguing. He followed Dean's directions and while they were passing through a larger town they already cleared, Dean suddenly tensed up and stuck his head out the window.
"Stop the car!" he demanded, his voice low.
Immediately pulling the car to the side of the road out of habit, Sam parked and tried to follow his brother's line of vision. He didn't see anything but a deserted town.
"Dean…what is it?" Sam kept his voice quiet as well.
"Saw something darting around…" Dean never stopped peering out at the town.
"We finished clearing out this town though, remember?" Sam reminded him. Sadie's group had already taken out the Croats and Sam and Dean had checked out the town once more, making sure it was clear and taking any supplies they could find.
It had been completely empty.
"I know I saw something." Dean seemed confident.
"Maybe it's a lone monster? Like the one Cas found wandering around in one of the other empty towns."
"No." Dean shook his head. "This was a Croat, I'm sure of it."
Croats weren't as easy to pinpoint as the typical image of a zombie-like creature. They didn't rot away, probably because they still had a soul trapped inside them. They could look just like the average person, just with a lot more blood on their clothes and a feral look on their faces.
But these days, most of the monsters probably looked pretty much the same.
"I can sense it Sam," Dean said as if reading Sam's thoughts. Oh yeah, he nearly forgot that demons could sense the Croats since they were creatures with a demonic virus. "Just barely, but I can."
"How would a Croat get into an empty town?" Carl asked. "They usually just stay in the areas where they died."
Carl was right. This was the first they had seen a Croat in an area that they knew had been completely cleared out.
"Who knows? I'm not gonna start thinking about how logical this situation is. It's here. We gotta kill it." Dean sounded excited over the prospect of a kill. He reached for the passenger side door but Sam grabbed his arm.
"You have to be careful Dean. Who knows if this thing is mutated or not."
"I will, I will! Geeze, it's just one of them. We can handle it. Come on."
The three of them made their way to the back of the Impala as silently as they possibly could. They each grabbed a machete and the brothers tucked a few more weapons into their jeans in case there was an actual monster around.
They started toward the town. Sam had tried to take the lead but Dean had glared at him and shoved the younger brother behind him. Sam didn't like it at all. Dean may be a damn demon but he was injured and these things were mutatings with a bite that could kill him.
They were making their way into the small old-fashioned downtown area when Sam heard the growling. He and Dean immediately froze as Carl kept walking, oblivious. He may know how to fight some Croats but he didn't have the trained hunter ear like the two of them.
Sam watched Dean hold his hand out slightly, stopping Carl in his tracks. The man gasped and tensed up before he relaxed, looking back to stare at Dean.
Dean let his hand drop and pointed his thumb over to the small cluster of run-down buildings. Carl understood as he pulled out his machete, slowly inching closer.
There was another growl and Sam focused, finding that it came somewhere to his right. Dean froze up and turned in that direction as well.
I go in front.
Dean's voice almost startled Sam. They hadn't communicated telepathically since Dean was rescued. He faced his brother and glared at him sternly.
No, we walk over side-by-side. We're a team, Dean. Sam really didn't want to go through telling Dean how he wanted to protect his brother too. How he needed to be treated as an equal.
Luckily, Dean motioned for Sam to join him by his side, although by the set of his jaw, he wasn't happy about it.
They rounded an old general store when Dean held out his machete-clad good hand. He waved Sam toward the building and then motioned for Carl to stay put outside.
It's in here, I can feel it. Be read, Dean sent his thoughts out to Sam and the younger brother positioned his machete in front of him, getting ready to strike as soon as the need be.
The brothers pushed past the door that was barely hanging on by its hinges and walked side-by-side, scanning the building stealthily.
I don't see anything, do you? Sam asked his brother, trying to take in every inch of the store.
Dean shook his head, taking a few steps forward...
And then it happened.
In a blur, a Croat leapt out from the shadows, landing on Dean and sending him sprawling on the floor. Dean's machete had fallen from his grip and slid away from him while the Croat pinned him to the ground, snarling.
"Dean!" Sam yelled, rushing forward and going in for the swing.
Just before the blade connected with the thing's neck, it jumped off of Dean. Sam startled at the disappearance of the Croat, not expecting it to move away and his balanced faltered. Dean sat up at the same time and Sam's machete connected with his brother's undamaged shoulder.
"Shit! Dean! Oh god..." He knelt next to his brother, horrified by what he had done.
Dean glanced over at the sharp long blade that was at least a couple inches deep into his skin like it was merely a splinter. He grabbed the handle with the same arm and pulled it out, only wincing a little when blood started pouring out from the wound.
A wound like that would heal up in a few minutes. Funny how seeing Dean injured made Sam forget about the whole demon thing.
"Come on! We shouldn't have taken our eyes off of it!" Dean jumped up with Sam's machete now in his hand. He used his powers to help get his brother to his feet as well.
"Guys?" Carl's voice called from outside.
"Stay the hell out there! Keep lookout!" Dean yelled to the man. The brothers spun around in circles, trying to find any sign of the creature. "This isn't fucking normal behavior for them and that thing was strong as hell!"
"It's gotta be mutated...Dean we should get out..."
The Croat was back behind Dean suddenly, running right at him.
"Behind you Dean!" Sam called out.
Dean spun around in a quick motion, swinging in what would have been a perfect hit.
Except the Croat jumped at the last minute, the blade getting stuck in its chest as once again, it brought Dean to the floor.
Sam reached for his machete, only to realize that Dean had taken his when the other had fallen to the floor. He searched around wildly, finally finding it lying a few feet away. Dashing over, he grabbed the weapon amidst the garbage on the floor and looked back toward his brother.
Dean was holding the Croat just far enough away from him so it couldn't bite him. But it wasn't enough for him to grab of the blade that was embedded into the thing's chest. They rolled around on the floor and Sam couldn't get a good angle. He didn't want to lunge at the thing only to miss and get his weapon stuck in the creature's body as well. Then they would both be defenseless.
Gonna teleport and then we charge at the thing!
Dean's struggles calmed, he was obviously trying to relax enough so that he could focus on teleporting. The Croat took the opportunity to bring its face down toward Dean's neck, spit flying from its mouth...
A second later, Dean was gone from under the Croat and at Sam's side. The creature jumped up in confusion and Dean used its hesitation to wave his hand and send a table flying through the air. It pinned the Croat to the far wall and the creature trashed violently against it, but it wouldn't hold for long.
"Sammy now!"
Sam didn't waste any time. He swung the machete's blade through the Croat's neck just as it managed to push the table off of it.
Glaring down at the severed head for a moment, Sam turned away and ran back to his brother.
"You okay? I'm so sorry..." he babbled, grabbing at Dean's shoulder only to see that it had stopped bleeding and was halfway healed.
Dean pushed Sam away and smirked. "Sorry you didn't succeed in chopping off my head."
"Shut up. It didn't bite you did it?"
"I may have let it get the upper hand for a minute, but I'm not that bad of a hunter where I would let it gnaw on me."
"Dean! Sam!" Carl's frightened voice yelled, causing both brothers to run outside. The man was still standing outside the store, not looking any worse for wear.
"What?" Dean asked, energized but irritated.
Carl pointed to the left, his finger shaking.
There were about ten Croats in the distance, wandering around. One turned their way and screamed, alerting the others.
"Shit! Both of you grab onto me now!" Dean yelled. The other men listened, latching onto Dean's shirt and they were teleported in front of the Impala.
Dean stumbled, he was probably still not at full strength and Sam grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him into the passenger seat. He ran around to the driver's side, Carl already in the back.
"Sammy, drive!"
Sam started the engine, glancing in the rear view mirror quickly to see that the creatures had already crossed half the distance to the car.
They were faster. This mutation was more dangerous than anyone could have expected.
He didn't linger on that thought though as he slammed on the gas. The car fishtailed for a moment before it got straightened out, flying down the country road at top speed.
"What the fucking hell just happened?"
For once, Sam thought Dean's language was warranted.
"But that town was cleared! This whole area has been! How did it get overrun? Croats don't travel to empty towns, they're attracted to sounds and smells."
Sadie was pacing along the lobby after the brothers and Carl came back and told her what they ran into. Sam could only imagine what she was feeling. The girl had always believed they had the perfect haven here, and as they cleared out the surrounding areas, she had only seemed more confident of that.
"It's probably because the fuckers were mutated," Dean said, holding onto his broken arm with a wince. It probably got banged up a bit in the tussle. "They were stronger and trickier to kill, so who's to say they don't have different mannerisms too?"
"How did they mutate so fast? You guys said you only saw a few back at the library…"
"There were probably more that Eve had stashed away," Sam told her. "And who knows how fast this thing can spread."
"Wait." Dean snapped his fingers. "Eve…what if these things didn't travel to that town, but Eve dropped them off there?"
Sam looked at his brother. "Why would she do that?"
"I have no idea. Just thinking of how they could have gotten there so quickly." Dean shrugged. "Either way, these things are spreading and they're close to us. I don't like it and I think we gotta get the hell out of here and away from Sioux Falls."
Sadie turned to face him, looking bewildered. "What? You're joking, right?"
"Like hell I'm joking. These things are nearby for whatever reason. Alastair knew where we were staying and Eve's gotta know we're somewhere in the area. We're in danger."
Sadie shook her head. "We're protected here! Look at all this work we all put in!"
Dean huffed. "Did you honestly think that in this type of world, we'd be able to stay put in one spot? This wasn't a great choice anyway. We're out in the open...a giant building...we got..."
"Dean, okay," Sam interrupted his brother before he could upset Sadie some more. He turned toward the young woman. "He's right. We talked about it on our way back and...I think we'd be safer getting further away from here. Our enemies know our relative location."
"You agree with him?" She was looking at Sam like he was crazy.
"Yeah, I do. How are we going to scavenge for supplies when the towns are getting run over again near here? What if they wander closer to the hotel? Sadie..." Sam sighed, finding it hard to find a way to get her to understand him. "These Croats...they're way more dangerous than any we've seen. Dean and I had a hard enough time taking down one."
"And if two hunters...one of them that's a demon..." Dean pointed at himself, "have a hard time, then what happens when there's a bunch of those bastards and we're surrounded?"
Sadie swallowed, shaking her head. "So we go out there where we could run into them, instead of staying here where we've been safe?"
"You wanna stay here and never be able to leave because the whole area is overrun with Croats?" Dean asked quizzically.
"Sadie, I know it's dangerous." Sam tried to speak calmly but sternly. "But I think it's even more dangerous staying in this area. If we leave we can try to find some place safer and more concealed..."
Sam stopped when he noticed a group was forming around them. From next to him, Dean moaned.
"I'll let them know what you're telling her," the older brother said and then walked away, motioning the people to gather around him. Sam noticed that Bobby and Ellen were there, so at least they would hear Dean out.
"Sam, you don't understand how much work I put into this, how far we've come..." Sadie continued. "We have a society here! We'd be giving up everything."
"I do understand it Sadie, trust me. The last thing I want to do is leave. But we have to think of everyone's safety. We wouldn't be giving up everything. We could bring stuff with us...and we're smarter now. We built a society once and we can do it again."
"So we just up and leave without waiting to see if things get better?" She actually had tears in her eyes although Sam doubted she would let them fall.
"You know it won't get better. Not when we can't kill these things without casualties. And we don't have to leave right now. We prepare, get everything ready and then we leave together in a few days...maybe a week."
Sadie glanced over to where Dean was enthusiastically describing the failed supply run. "And where exactly will we go to?"
Sam sighed. "I don't know. But we'll never know until we get out there and look. If we stay together, we should be okay. It's better than staying here like sitting ducks. We could...Dean mentioned the Rocky Mountains. There are cabins out there that are probably really secluded. I think it's a good idea to look out there."
"We'd have the protection of the mountains..." Sadie no longer seemed as reluctant. "But we'd have to find some flat land to farm..."
"I'm sure there's areas nestled between some mountain ranges that would be good. Dean and I were going to look at some maps tonight and find some general areas that we can search."
Sadie smiled a little. "Dean's really into this, huh? I swear it used to seem like he hated being stuck here with us and now he's trying to help us find a safe place to live."
"He likes feeling like he's included. He feels like he belongs and had people that accept him for who he is. He's going to protect that." Sam looked over at his brother, smiling proudly at the way he was communicating with the group. The people had to be shocked and frightened to hear the news, but it didn't seem that any yelling was taking place. Sam turned back to face Sadie. "No one is going to have a problem with him coming with us, will they?"
"Sam," Sadie spoke sternly. "Dean is part of this group, of course he's coming whether people like it or not. And they won't have a problem with it…well most won't anyway. The ones that do can deal with it."
"I figured. But I thought I'd ask just to be sure…"
"You're protective of him, I get it," she said fondly. "You want to make sure he's treated fairly. But you don't have to worry about it…it's Ruby that I'm pretty sure they'll have a problem with."
"Really?" Sam cocked an eyebrow. "Wasn't she the one that helped get his place running with magically enhancing the generator and pool? She's been around a lot longer than Dean…"
"And she doesn't act half as human as your brother. She's not exactly like the other demons, sure…but she doesn't talk to anyone. She's never around. People only really wanted her here because she said she would shut down the generator if we made her leave. They don't trust her like they do Dean."
Sam thought back to the other day. "Dean told me he talked to her a bit and she agreed to come over and watch the fireworks. I saw her by the kids."
"Yeah, she did come by," Sadie admitted. "But she didn't even try to interact. She stood there away from everyone with her arms folded for five minutes and left. Dean was lighting those fireworks and playing with the kids. People notice these differences and that's why they trust him and not her."
They walked over to one of the couches and sat down. Sam watched his brother for a little while and how he genuinely seemed pretty comfortable talking with the people and explaining the Croat situation. He thought of what Sadie said about Ruby and couldn't really remember her ever being part of the group other than going to rescue Dean. Maybe he had let his guard down too much with her.
"Do you trust her?" he asked the young woman, curious of her answer.
"I don't think she's going to kill us, but trust? No, I think she's only out for herself. Dean might act like he is…but I don't think so. Look at him right now. Why would he talk to people about the danger they're in and trying to get them somewhere safe if he didn't care in someway?"
"He does care…," Sam told her what he knew to be true. It was something he had really come to notice in these last few months. "Not in the way most humans would but…these people accept him and he doesn't want to lose that feeling of belonging."
The young woman smiled. "Yeah…can you see Ruby doing what Dean is doing now? Do you think she would hang out with the kids…let alone allow one to stay in a room with her, like Dean does with Aiden?"
Sam shook his head. "No, I can't."
"I don't know what to do if she decides to come with us. I'm worried but I'm more afraid of what would happen if I told her to leave."
Sam understood that. If Dean would have been kicked out, he would have thrown around some cuss words and maybe thrown some things, but that would be it. With Ruby…who knew if she would want to get revenge?"
Sam was brought out of his musings about Ruby when someone approached the two of them. He assumed it was Dean, but he looked up to see a furious Allen standing in front of them.
"You about to tell me that we should listen to that thing…," he pointed over to Dean who was smartly ignoring the man, "when it comes to determining the safety of a bunch of humans? There's no way in hell a demon can know what's best for us!"
"You know Allen…" Sadie spoke up before Sam could. "Dean could easily snap your neck if he wanted to and he hasn't laid a finger on you. Don't you think that counts for something?"
She paused, waiting for Allen to have some counter argument, but his mouth just opened and closed without a word. "I thought so. And I would think that a demon who had went through Hell would be the best at determining possible threats. We're lucky he's telling us about them and trying to get us away instead of letting us stay in the dark. No one is going to force anyone to leave though, so if you want to continue to live here, be my guest. Good luck surviving on your own without mooching off the rest of us who put in an effort to keep this place going."
"I help!" Allen yelled defensively.
"You are conveniently sick or too tired when I ask you to do something. You are useless on supply runs because you're too nervous to go into any place that hasn't already been cleared out. The only reason why you're not kicked out is because I know you'd be dead in a few days and I couldn't live with the thought of having someone's death on my hands." She walked over to the group of people but turned around before she got there. "Oh, and Dean's not a 'thing'. He has more team effort than you, so think about that for a second before you judge him."
Allen stared dumfounded at Sadie for a moment before turning to Sam. "Can you believe that bitch?"
Sam stood up, staring Allen down. "Also, Dean wouldn't ever call Sadie a bitch, so maybe you should think about that for a second too."
The expression on Allen's face was enough payback for Sam.
"I told you this was the last game! I'm not playing anymore!" Dean put the game controller down, ignoring the sad expression on Aiden's face. Not only was the kid annoying him, but in order for him to play, he had to keep the controller close to his body because of the sling and his arm was starting to get stiff and hurt.
"But Dean! If we're gonna move away, we have to play the games as long as we can! What if our new home doesn't have an Xbox?"
"We're not leaving tomorrow brat. We've got a few days or a week and we can play more then. So stop whining."
"You're just mad because I beat you!"
"I let you beat me so you wouldn't cry like a baby."
"Guys, quit it." Sam sat in the lounge chair next to them overlooking maps. He shook his head at the bickering.
"You can play him tomorrow," Dean told his brother. He got up to turn off the console and Aiden immediately groaned.
"Can we watch a movie now?" the little boy asked.
"No." Sam placed down the map and stood up. "Why don't you get ready for bed? I think we're all about to call it a night."
"Okay, fine." Aiden pouted and walked over to Sam's bathroom.
"Thank god," Dean sighed as soon as Aiden disappeared from sight. "Thought I'd never get him to stop bugging me. Find any place on the map?"
He and Sam had gone over some maps together for a while before Aiden started demanding attention. They had some areas circled out and Dean was curious to know if Sam had narrowed it down.
"I'm thinking Colorado. The mountains are pretty dense there. If we stay in lower elevation, I think the winters won't be too terrible and we'll have warm summers. The only problem is that we don't get a closer view of these areas. If only we had internet and Google Maps again, I could zoom in and see where the areas of flat land are between the mountains."
"Well nothing we can do about that," Dean responded. "We just make our way to Colorado and get into the mountains. Then we'll try to find some back-roads and keep trying them until we find a good area."
"Yeah. We have to stay off the main roads that people might be travelling. I'm sure if we take a back-road for a while it would be far enough removed from the main ones where we'll be safe and no stragglers would find us. The only problem is that we have to hope we find a set of cabins or something with water nearby. But it can't be too close to a town because survivors will head there to loot."
Dean nodded, agreeing with everything his brother was saying. They had already picked what cars they would take and filled them with gas. Dean took it as his own job to put the remaining gas containers in the trunks of those cars. They were going to need all the fuel they could get but it seemed like they would have enough to make it to Colorado.
That meant the cars were all set, and Dean basically had most of his things packed into his duffle and backpack. Sam hadn't exactly been happy with Dean packing so early, but he figured why not? The thought of moving energized and excited him, even though he really would miss this hotel like hell. But it never seemed like a permanent solution. He just hoped the safer place that they found was at least decent and not full of shabby run-down cabins.
"Okay I'm ready for bed!" Aiden came running out of Sam's bathroom and jumped on the couch.
Dean sighed, now they were going to have to leave this room if they wanted Aiden to go to sleep. "You wanna keep looking at the maps in your office room or hit the hay?" he asked his brother.
Sam looked longingly at the maps in his hands like he didn't ever want to stop researching but he ended up shaking his head. "No, I'm pretty tired and I bet you are too. We can look over them some more tomorrow."
"Alright." Dean clamped Sam on the shoulder. "'Night Sammy."
Oddly enough, sleep didn't come easily for Dean. He lay staring at the ceiling. He always liked to lay on his stomach in order to get a deep sleep and he wished his arm wasn't broken so he could get more comfortable.
Your arm is broken because of me. Because you're weak.
Alastair's voice startled Dean. He knew it was only his subconscious, but it explained why he hadn't been able to sleep tonight. He had been feeling better about the whole situation, so he wasn't sure what had brought up these thoughts tonight. Maybe it was the Croats that he had seen?
That's right. The Croats that can kill you now. You didn't think getting away from me meant you were safe, did you Dean? Those things are going to eat you alive and you'll leave your poor baby brother all alone.
"Shut the fuck up!" Dean grabbed another pillow and put it over his face, growling into it.
"Dean?"
Tossing the pillow away, Dean looked toward the door to see his little brother standing there, looking concerned in the soft glow from the bathroom nightlight.
Maybe Sam hadn't heard. Dean pretended to act sleepy. "What are you doing up Sammy?"
Sam walked into the room. "Nightmares. Couldn't sleep. And by the sound of it, you couldn't either. Who were you telling to shut up?"
"Aiden's snoring."
Sam folded his arms. "Dean," he spoke sternly.
"Fine. The voices in my head."
"Be serious for a second."
"I am." Dean's voice came out harsh.
That got Sam to walk over and sit on the edge of Dean's bed. "What are you thinking about?" he asked sincerely.
"Of you leaving me alone." Dean tried to turn over but Sam grabbed his shoulder.
"Dean. We promised each other that we'd..."
"Yeah, yeah...we'd talk to each other and share our little feelings and problems," Dean grumbled. "I know, I know. Just...give me a second..."
"Hey, take as much time as you need. I'm not going anywhere." Sam scooted so he was fully sitting on the other side of the bed, his back against the headboard.
Great. There went his hope of Sam getting tired of waiting. Dean sighed and put his good arm over his eyes.
"It's nothing. I just couldn't sleep."
"Dude, you're always sleeping. You never have any problem with it, you can pass out anywhere at any time. So what's bothering you?"
Dean scooted up on the bed. "You're not gonna stop, are you?"
"Would you if it were me?"
Of course Sam would know exactly what to say to get him to open up. "Fine. I was hearing that damn demon's voice in my head. Telling me how useless I am. Happy?"
Sam frowned, his puppy-dog eyes in full force. "Of course I'm not happy Dean. You know all that stuff that bastard said is a bunch of bullshit. You don't still believe him, do you?"
"No...I really was in a good place Sammy. Don't really know what brought it on. But hey, maybe he's right and it's just another reason I'm weak?" Dean tried for a smirk but it seemed to only make Sam more upset.
"Dean...you know you're not weak. When someone goes through something like you just suffered through...they don't get over it right away. It takes time to feel better. Even when you think you're over it...sometimes it pops back into your mind and takes all your focus... you have a hard time getting rid of it."
"Wow, that was beautiful Sammy. How about you repeat that and I'll write it down, turn it into a book? World's gonna need new literature, especially some motivational novels."
Sam didn't even chuckle. "We get to spend the rest of forever together, Dean. Don't start it off by making everything so difficult."
"Okay, okay." Dean held his head in his hand. "Sorry, I just suck at this, you know that. It's 'cause I'm…."
"If you say it's because you're a demon, then so help me…"
Dean smirked. "Nah, was gonna say it's because I'm Dean. Always been a hard ass, demon's got nothing to do with it. Okay, well maybe a little…"
"You're changing the subject again. I don't want you to think there's anything wrong with going over what he said to you. But I need you to know it's not true and I want you to try and push it back when you start thinking those things."
"I know, I know. I just…I wish I would have been able to tell him how pathetic he was. I wish I would have told him that I figured out his stupid plan and that he never tore us apart like he thought."
"I think he probably got the hint when I showed up," Sam supplied.
"Yeah…maybe. I just wanted to see it in his eyes. For him to know how much he failed. But I got carried away and killed him."
"Hey, don't you wish I think the same? I wanted to say so many things to him. But…I think it's worse for him that he didn't know everything…that he died not knowing how he failed."
Dean thought about that for a moment. Alastair had always been one that thought he was right. He hated being proved wrong, but if he didn't know why he was wrong, why he failed, that was something that would drive the demon crazy.
"I guess you've got a point."
"I do. He got no satisfaction before he died. It was perfect." Sam patted him on he shoulder, in which Dean immediately shrugged off.
"So why couldn't you sleep?" he changed the subject. "What were the nightmares about?"
"Oh you know…just you getting eaten by Croats and dying," Sam huffed in response.
"Sammy I'm gonna be fine."
"Tell that to my subconscious."
Not knowing what to say, Dean found that he didn't want Sam to go back to his room. He was feeling calmer with his brother here, but it wasn't like he was going to admit that out loud.
"Wanna watch a movie?" Dean asked.
Sam smiled, it seemed like he didn't want to be alone at the moment either. "Yeah, that sounds good."
Dean didn't feel like getting up, so he focused on his pile of DVDs and sent one floating his way. It ended up being one of the stupid Transformers movies, but hey, it wasn't like they were going to really watch it anyway, just have something in the background to help them fall asleep.
He made the disc float into the DVD player and turned the TV on with his powers.
Sam laughed, grinning like he used to when Dean would show him one of his stupid 'magic tricks' when they were kids. "Dude, that was awesome."
"Hey, I'm a Deanmon, what's more awesome than that?"
Sam looked horrified. "Dean! That's the cheesiest thing I've ever heard! Even coming from you! Deanmon? Really?"
"Hey, you said I can't go around telling everyone I'm a demon, so I thought of something else."
"Don't you even dare. You know how embarrassing that is? Having a brother that thinks he's so funny with his lame-ass jokes?"
"Okay, maybe it is a little lame. I really thought about it a few months ago and I've been waiting for the right time to use it." Dean grinned.
"Yeah, well don't use it again. No one is going to think something as corny as that is funny."
Dean chuckled, loving the fact that he was able to irritate Sam just by being an obnoxious big brother. With being back in the same room with Sam, being able to hear his brother's steady breathing and know for certain he was safe…Dean found himself being able to fall asleep with ease. Yeah, it may seem ridiculous for men their age to want to sleep in the same room, but not only did they grow up that way, but throughout their entire lives, they always shared a motel room. Maybe they would be able to have a classic motel-style setup in the new place they would find to live…
Dean suddenly bolted upright. Not sure what caused him to wake up, he looked around wildly. He wasn't in the hotel anymore but a cabin…the same cabin from 1994…the same one as the dream world he and Sam had been in.
"Dean, hey!"
Dean turned to his left to see Sam jogging toward him. It wasn't a memory-Sam, it was his Sam, Sam's soul that appeared in the dream world. He held out his own hands and sure enough, one was mutilated and the other was missing completely.
Okay, so he had obviously jumped into Sam's dream again.
Sam reached over and Dean grabbed on with his one hand. After Sam pulled him to his feet, he looked at his older brother in awe.
"How do you do this?" He gestured to the dream-cabin around them.
Dean shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it was because I wasn't feeling that great and neither were you. And then we talked it out and...I don't know, I...we wanted to feel safe?" He blushed at the end, but hey, Sam wanted him to be honest and he was.
Luckily Sam didn't call him a sissy or anything. In fact, he smiled at Dean's words. "I think so too. And it was like...I was dreaming and suddenly...it was like I could feel you..."
"Woah Sammy, don't get all freaky, I'm your brother..."
Sam shoved him, not minding the condition of his soul and for that, Dean was glad. Sam didn't even blink twice or look away when he saw him. "Shut up ass! You know what I mean. It was like I could feel your presence...and it was like I could let you enter my mind or I could refuse and push you out."
Well, Dean was pleased to hear that he wasn't forcefully intruding in Sam's mind. It made him feel better that Sam had wanted him here and could kick his ugly ass out whenever he felt like it.
"So uh...I guess we can just relax this time," Dean said awkwardly and poked Sam in the side with his demon tail. "No need to plan to bust me out of Alastair's prison. How about we go swimming in the lake?"
Sam smiled, smacking the tail away in amusement. "Yeah, that sounds awesome."
They followed the river behind the cabin to head toward the lake. They only made it about halfway when Sam suddenly doubled over, yelling in pain. The world around them flickered and faded.
"Sammy!" Dean knelt down, hand and stump on his brother's shoulders. "Hey, look at me! What's wrong? Sammy!"
"Ahhh...vision...Dean..." Sam groaned and clutched at his head before suddenly grabbing onto Dean's shirt tightly. "Don't leave. Don't leave me!"
"Sammy, I'm not! What..." Dean was forced to stop talking as he felt this horrible and painful tugging sensation. It was almost like he was being forced out of this dream. But Sam said he didn't want him to go, didn't he?
Dean focused, clutching onto Sam's shoulders the best that he could and willed himself to stay right here, to stay at his brother's side.
He wasn't sure what was going on, but it didn't seem good and he couldn't leave Sam alone when he could be in danger.
One second, it felt like Dean's soul was tearing into pieces and the next, he was being shaken by Sam.
"Dean, Dean! Hey, you okay? Come on, move or something."
"I'm good, I'm good." Dean grunted, letting Sam help him up. He looked around him to see that they were….
Back in the hotel. Did this mean they weren't dreaming? Dean looked down at his hands again to see that he was still in his soul form. What the hell…
"Dean, it's a vision." Sam pointed over to the bed and Dean saw both him and Sam laying sprawled out on either side of it, fast asleep.
Well this was weird. "Are you sure about this Sammy?"
"I know when it's a vision or not Dean! I can' explain it but I know."
"Is this how all your visions happen? You just get sucked from a dream straight into one?"
"I don't know." Sam shook his head. "Usually I'm not aware when I'm dreaming like I am when you're with me. I mean, I probably was taken from dreams right into a vision before but…I'm never…I have never been able to move around and talk. I'm either just a spectator or if I'm in the vision, I'm myself as if it's really happening."
Dean tried to follow what his brother was saying. "So, usually you would be…" He pointed to the Sam sleeping on the bed. "And you wouldn't realize that this is just a vision, but it would feel like real life?"
"Exactly. I don't realize it was a vision until I wake up. But this…this is different for some reason. I think it has to do with the fact that you're here too."
"Well okay." Dean walked over closer to the bed. "This could be good. You're aware it's a vision and you're in control of yourself so you can really focus on what's going on. And you've got me here to do that as well. But…" Dean kicked the bed. It sure felt as if it were real. "Why the hell are you having a vision of us drooling in our sleep?"
"I don't know! I can't control it. Usually the visions are something really important."
Dean was about to say something sarcastic when he heard distant growling. He ran out of the room and into the living area, opening the window and staring outside.
"Aww shit Sammy, I think I found out what's so important."
Sam joined Dean at the window and gasped. Sprinting toward the hotel were a massive horde of snarling Croats.
"Dean! There's gotta be….a hundred of them!"
"Maybe more," Dean pointed out. "Come on, wake us up! We gotta get out of the real hotel before this happens."
"I can't make us wake up! I doesn't work that way!"
"Each second that we're sleeping means these things are getting closer!"
"We can't do anything about it until we are awake! And maybe the longer this vision goes on, the more we can find out what happens and how to stop certain things."
Dean glanced back at his bedroom. "How come we aren't waking up?!"
"We were really tired and are in a deep sleep, probably still in that dream world. Of course we can't hear these things!"
Dean's eye caught the digital clock on the nightstand and he thought of something. "Hey, look it's…2:48….at least we know what time this happens! Now we know we gotta get out of here before then…what time did we actually fall asleep?"
"I….I came into your room at midnight. How long were we awake…a half hour, a little longer? Crap Dean, it could have been one in the morning when we fell asleep." Sam's voice was wavering with panic. "We're not going to have much time before we're under attack."
"Well it's a good thing I already packed up my shit."
"Who cares about our shit! I care about our lives!"
"Yeah, well isn't it helpful to at least have some of your stuff when we have to book it out of here?"
Sam was solemn as he turned back to the window. "I can't believe it," he said softly.
"Hey." Dean poked Sam with his demon tail again to get him to cheer up. It didn't work. "We were going to leave anyway, this just proves that we were right."
"Yeah, but I didn't think we'd be under attack so soon! This is crazy!"
"It's also why we have to find someplace safe. We won't get attacked like this in the mountains."
The Croats started banging against the front door, shoving their bodies against it. It was true that the door was protected, but only against monsters and demons, not Croats, especially not against a horde mutated ones. These things would knock down that door just by the force of them piling up against it.
"What the hell is that!"
Dean recognized the sound of his own voice and turned around. The vision-version of him and Sam sprang up from the bed and ran into the room.
"About time," Dean mumbled. He ended up gasping when the vision Sam and Dean walked right through them to get to the window. He looked toward his real brother. "Dude, this is nasty."
"Shut up and focus Dean."
Well, so much for trying to lighten the mood.
"They broke in, damn it!" Vision-Dean swore and grabbed at his brother's shirt. "We gotta get out of here now!"
Dean watched as these versions of themselves quickly grabbed some weapons. Aiden had woken up and was crying as he followed the brothers around.
"Come on, let's follow them...err...us," Dean told his brother. They had just made it out the door when the lights went out.
"What the hell!" Vision-Dean yelled.
"The generator!" Vision-Sam gasped. "They must be in the back too and knocked it over or something!"
"Let's get down there now." Vision-Dean grabbed onto his Sam and told Aiden to hold on, and then teleported them away.
"Here," Dean said, grabbing onto Sam's arm just like his counterpart had. "Let's follow them." He focused, closing his eyes.
"Um…Dean…," Sam mumbled and Dean opened his eyes to see them standing in the same spot. "I don't think it's going to work here."
"It's a dream! Shouldn't we…or at least you…be able to manipulate what happens? I was able to create that cabin!"
"But this is a vision," Sam reminded him. "We can't change anything and your powers obviously don't work either. We have to take the stairs, come on."
Sam headed toward the stairs but Dean pushed him aside to take the lead. Sure, it wasn't like they would get hurt in this vision, but big brother instincts never went away.
They hurried down the stairs, hearing horrified screams become louder and louder. On the fourth floor, someone sprinted past them up the staircase, the man was clutching at his bleeding arm. A few seconds later, a group of three Croats sprinted past the brothers as well, chasing the man. They were much less clumsy than the non-mutated Croats and had no problem quickly darting up the stairs.
Dean pulled Sam to the side even though the Croats would have gone through them and they watched in disgust as the creatures caught up to the man and bit into his flesh, tearing him apart in animalistic gluttony.
"Oh my god…" Sam was still staring at the man-made-Croat-meal, his hand over his mouth like he was going to vomit.
"Come on." Dean tugged at his sleeve. "We can't do anything about that here. But what we can do is get down there and see what's happening. Then we can try to prevent these deaths in the real world."
They finally made it down to the lobby only to find it in complete chaos. A few lights were on, probably by either Vision-Dean or Ruby's powers. There were Croats running all over the place, all the furniture was knocked down and people were running in circles without any destination in mind, their faces full of panic. Bodies were scattered on the ground and blood stained almost every surface.
"Dean!" Sam shook his shoulder and pointed to his right. There was a body on the ground and it came into focus as Dean squinted.
It was Aiden, dead in a pile of blood with a large chunk of flesh bitten out of his neck.
Sam looked like he was about to cry so Dean pulled him away and led them through the madness. "It's not him Sammy. We can stop that. We have to find where we are. We probably went to the garage."
As soon as Dean said that, he heard his own voice yelling "Get to the garage!" He watched both the vision-version of him and Sam running toward the stairs that would lead to the garage.
But Sadie got there first, unaware that there was a Croat right behind her.
"Don't open it!" Dean yelled, knowing that it was useless. He watched Sadie pull open the door just as the Croat lunged at her. She fell to the ground with it biting at her, the two of them served as a door jam and a large group of Croats ran down the stairs into the garage.
"NO DAMN IT!" Vision-Dean screamed, but it was too late. They were trapped from all ends and quickly the brothers were surrounded. Vision-Dean pushed Sam behind him uselessly, their weapons drawn, not going down without a fight. There wasn't even a point in him teleporting out of the building, as he would probably just teleport into a group of Croats.
Without the garage, there really was no escape.
Dean turned Sam around, not wanting his brother to watch what could very well be their deaths. He closed his own eyes but couldn't block out the screams as the Croats attacked the Sam and Dean in front of them.
They had to be able to prevent this, or they were all going to die.
Thanks for reading. There should only be one chapter left (but with a sequel to come)! I hope you enjoyed and please let me know what you thought :)
