AN: Just two more chapters and it's all over! I'm still finishing the last one so I'm afraid you'll have to bear with me for a little longer. Thankyou so much for the reviews, they are very encouraging. Toodles, AT
Dean had always thought Isabel was small, even for a girl, and seeing her half naked hanging from the ceiling had made her seem even more delicate, but running with her in his arms through the dark dusty mine shaft, he started to feel her weight. He slowed slightly until he heard his brother's voice call out to him. He squinted, vaguely making out Sam's silhouette in the distance, walking towards Isabel and him.
"Sam!" He yelled out "I've got her. Are the girls out?"
Isabel turned her head, catching a glimpse of Sam. Instantly she started thrashing in Dean's arms "No!" She screamed "No!"
Warning bells rang in Dean's ears straight away. Isabel had not freaked out when she saw Dean, but for some reason did when she saw Sam, making Dean think that this may not really be Sam.
"Where's Sam?" Dean asked. He didn't want to let Isabel go, but he couldn't get to his gun if he didn't put her down.
'Sam's' eyes glowed as he looked at Dean angrily "You'll pay for trying to take my girls"
"Wrong. They are not your girls" Dean said, taking a step back "and you are gonna pay"
Dean bent down to set Isabel down onto the dirty ground, but knowing what he was doing she held on tighter to him.
"Please don't go" she begged Dean desperately "Don't let him take me"
"I won't" He whispered to her comfortingly "Don't move Bel, I'll be right back"
"You can't take her from me" Said 'Sam' glancing briefly at Isabel "I'm not finished with her. She stays"
Dean snorted "Over my dead body" He said evenly.
He reached for his gun but was pushed to the ground before he could aim. The flashlight had fallen and lay on the ground nearby, casting an eerie glow around them in the narrow tunnel. The gun was knocked away as 'Sam' landed a hard punch to Dean's jaw. As he went to swing again, Dean blocked it, managing to turn them around so that he was on top. He kneeled next to 'Sam' and grabbed him by the collar, his raised hand frozen in midair as the face in front of him turned into Isabel's, contorted in fear and surprise.
Dean faltered. He knew it wasn't Isabel. Isabel was laying five feet away from them, beaten and bleeding because of what this thing in front of him had done to her. Still, he hesitated, and that was all the demon needed. The punch was hard and it was followed by a head butt that left Dean temporarily disorientated and unable to move.
He was on the ground, trying to focus his vision. He craned his neck to see 'Sam' again approaching Isabel. She'd been crawling away during their fight.
She gasped as 'Sam' grabbed her by her hair and pulled her head up to his mouth.
"Where do you think you're going, darling?" He spat in her ear.
He lifted her up and threw her against the wall, catching her before she fell forward. His hand went around her neck as he held her against the wall, her feet barely touching the ground. She watched in horror as his face moved forward, their noses almost touching. The fear inside her was all consuming and she couldn't even breathe. She was frozen. She knew this wasn't Sam, his voice was all wrong, his build was all wrong, but looking into Sam's face made it impossible for her to distinguish between reality and what she thought she was seeing.
She whimpered as she felt his cheek against hers, nuzzling her tenderly. She felt his lips against her ear as he whispered to her softly "We're not done yet"
Her self-control broke and she screamed. She watched in horror as he grabbed her face with both hands and whacked it against the wall behind her. The last thing she heard was her name being called out. It had sounded like Dean's voice.
"Get the hell away from her!"
Dean slowly reached Isabel and 'Sam', wanting nothing more than to kill this thing pretending to be his brother.
He pulled him off of Isabel and punched him again, pulling him to the ground.
"You sick son of a bitch!" Dean spat at him, as he punched him over and over again.
They wrestled for control, both gaining and losing the upper hand as they fought. Dean saw him pull out a knife from behind him and cursed himself for having left his own in the room where Isabel had been kept. He looked around for the gun he'd dropped earlier, but the light cast by the flashlight was not enough to allow for a proper search.
The demon noticed Dean's lack of concentration and pounced, tackling him to the ground. It was while 'Sam' had Dean pinned to the ground, knife raised above his head ready to plunge, that Dean heard a loud bang and felt a spray of warm fluid land on his face. The sound was repeated and the figure above him regained the appearance of George Stillwell, complete with two bullet holes. One to the head, one to the heart. Dean pushed the body aside and it landed with a thud. He looked up to see Sam, the real Sam, with gun in hand, about ten feet away.
"That felt good" Sam said.
It had been more that weird to aim a gun at himself, and he was infinitely grateful that the spell was broken now and he didn't have to look at his own dead body. It had been weird enough when it had happened to Dean.
Dean watched his brother for a moment before quickly standing and rushing over to Isabel. Sam ran to his side and dropped to his knees beside Dean, staring at their cousin's unconscious body. Dean turned her around onto her back and he heard his brother next to him gasp in horror as he took in her battered appearance.
"Isabel" Sam breathed out.
Dean's hand went to her neck and his finger rested below her jaw line for a few seconds before he let out a breath of relief. He closed his eyes and ran a hand over her head "She's alive"
Sam took off his jacket, lightly placing it over Isabel's torso. He pulled her up, noticing his brother was a little beaten up himself and held her small figure in his arms "Let's get her out of here Dean"
Dean nodded and slowly approached the fallen form of George Stillwell. He watched him for a moment, letting all the rage and hatred of the demon flow through him. He allowed himself one last venting and with all the force he could muster he delivered a powerful kick to the Stillwell's head, smiling disturbingly in satisfaction when he heard the faint sound of bone cracking.
With only one glance back at Stillwell's body, they turned around and headed out of the mine in silence.
