Reprisals chpt 11

Dean rolled wearily onto his side, When did I fall asleep? and looked around. In all honesty he wasn't sure if his eyes were open or not, the black was so pervasive, so all consuming he wondered if there really was light after death. (Even now, he still didn't remember if he'd seen anything after the truck hit them, but then Laura had intervened too so maybe that threw things off). Maybe I'm just gonna go straight to hell and in hell there is no light…he felt his body sigh and the blister skin shift with the movement making him wince. Damn that was a nice dream… fresh air, the feel of the accelerator under my foot, Sammy safe in the back seat… I never thought I'd be able to appreciate the smell of antiseptic…funny I knew exactly where the hospital was, or maybe my baby just knew we needed one again. Hmmm he mused feeling his lips curl at the idea. Every part of my body hurts… what's the point, we're never getting out of here, I'm sorry Sammy, I never meant to get you killed, I never meant to fail you…Dad, good luck out there…I love you both, he rolled back to his other side, onto the hip that didn't hurt so bad and tucked his hands up under his head sensing sleep at the periphery of his awareness. She was just waiting for him to relax enough so she could take him back to the outside world where even she knew he belonged.

A cool breeze blew gently into his face propelled by the scent of filth and decay, and just behind that, the scent of stale b.o. and unwashed cigarette mouth. He felt his eyes open and he felt them bulge staring out into the blackness to try and see them, he knew they were there.

"I was always partial to a cool breeze myself…"

"Nuuh!" burst out of him, his balls shrank back, and as he swung his arm, trying to find the source of the voice in the darkness, his arm snagged and chains clinked. "No! No Freakin' Way! This is NOT happening!" he yelled pulling hard against the chains, grasping them with both hands, pressing his feet against the wall and pulling with all his might, frantic with futility. A whimper rolled unasked for from him and it was dragging a sob behind as he fell onto his back.

Cold rolling thunder at the far rear of the cell mocked him as solid weight straddled his legs and clammy fingers grasped his t-shirt, the tips of the fingers popping through the cotton, then he felt it tear and try as he might to slap those hands away it was no use, his chains didn't let him reach that far and the weight holding him down wouldn't budge.

"Please stop…" he whispered feeling the tears come no matter how hard he tried to stuff them down deep, feeling the helplessness he thought he'd escaped. I never escaped it… just postponed it… I should've known better… every action… consequences… I killed a man…I left him dying with a shank of bone in his brain and a cut off blood supply…he was a monster! he raped and tortured and killed children! Don't you dare have a regret! He deserved the slow death… you don't know how lucky you were dad taught you everything he did… that he knew about the evils out there, that… any of them would have believed me if I'd ever told them…they would have congratulated me for it, but…that's not something to be congratulated for! And… and they would have looked at me different, part of them never would have believed I killed him before… before he could…

"Please…" he breathed feeling wet, sticky and slimy mashing over his chest and abdomen.

"Oooh momma's little boy has grown so big and strong… sooo lovely…" whispered the darkness and Dean felt a tongue spreading burning blistering fire over the track Eddy Jay's finger and palm had made.

"…stop…" shuddered into the darkness. He squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lips on the inside to hold back whatever anguish would fuel this sadist's fire. In the dark it couldn't see either but if he could hold back his torment… he might be able to…

"Dean? Dean what's wrong?" Sam's voice called hoarsely from across the pit.

"Sam…" he choked feeling cold serpentine fingers moving over his chest, "… Sammy I'm sorry…"

"Dean… what's going on? What's wrong? Talk to me…" his little brother choked and coughed, almost sounding a little better.

Icy, burning cold wetness seared the exposed nerves under the palm sized torn blister and he screamed, his hands flailing as much as they could despite the restraining hands that grasped at them.

"Come ON! DEAN!" Sam's voice broke into his head.

"Lemme goh hoh!" his voice shook with sobs. His body nearly convulsed and his eyes flew through the light wondering if it was really real, if Sam, leaning over him with that mix of fear, curiosity and concern on his face, pinning his arms down was truly there.

Sam's heart was racing and his breath, short and harsh in his slowly recovering chest made him a little dizzy. He'd awoken about ten hours ago to find Dean feverish, tossing and moaning in the bed beside his.

After what we've been through I'd expect anyone to have a few nightmares but this is different…it started with this case but… wow I have NEVER seen him have a nightmare like THIS, NEVER…Dean I'm worried about you, what's going on behind that wall of yours? he wondered and pressed his left hand to Dean's face while trying to digest the stark terror he'd just caught a glimpse of.

Sam wouldn't have said he could get much more concerned, or for that matter, Completely Freaked Out than he currently was, until Dean's arm wrapped around his neck and squeezed him hard against his chest, his entire body trembling more than a late October leaf still clinging to its tree. He felt Dean's breath hitch hard a few times, felt him swallow hard a couple of times, then felt him give himself to the embrace completely before the wall came back up and whatever torment he kept behind it was kenneled out of sight once more.

"You okay now?" Sam asked sitting down on the bed and examining his brother's mask. It wasn't quite situated perfectly on his face but…aaahp… cocky smile….yep, that set the mask right.

"Yeah Francis," he sniffed, "Dean all better now…guess a hug really does have the power to heal…" he grunted softly and cocked his head and eyebrow at Sam, "You're giving me the bug look again… it was just a nightmare Sam… we were still down there that's all…"

"I didn't ask," Sam smiled softly.

Dean huffed, "Big brother… I know things remember? … so… how long?" he asked looking out the window at the green gold sunshine against the next building over and wondering how long it would be before he could feel that color inside him again.

"Day and a half…" he nodded and shook his head grasping Dean's eyes and keeping them connected to his, "We did salt and burn didn't we?" he asked barely sure.

"If this isn't a dream then yeah, we did…" Dean nodded pushing himself all the way up and pouring a glass of water. It was then that he noticed the I.V. tubing sticking out of his arm. "We were down there for two days… little dehydrated I guess huh?"

"I guess," Sam nodded.

"Where's yours?"

"I was a good boy and finished mine this morning. They said since I was awake I could drink my hydration like a normal person… you… just don't look down…" he smirked and watched Dean's face crumple.

"They didn't…"

"Mmm hmmm," Sam nodded smirking.

"You're the one with broken stuff!..." he protested lifting the blanket and looking down. "Man! I hate these things!... they chafe…"

"I'll take a walk down the hall if you wanna take it out…" Sam shrugged.

Dean sighed and leaned back, "Ahh to hell with it…it's already in there… and it saves me from having to get out of bed."

"Kind of an inconvenient convenience?" Sam asked unable to resist and hung his head chuckling. He cast a glance at Dean who was propped comfortably against no less than three, possibly four pillows, his water in one hand and the other behind his head trying to suppress that damned silly smile of his that never failed to make Sam laugh out loud. This moment was no exception. In seconds they were laughing, clutching at their bellies though neither of them had any clue what could possibly be so funny besides the absurdity of the situation in general.

They managed to finally get their gales under control as Sam's protesting lungs and two broken ribs started a coughing fit that almost scared them both. Once it was certain he'd settled down and wasn't going to rupture something they choked a few more chuckles and snickers out and finally seemed to be able to get down to the business of resting a bit.

Dean explained what he thought he saw in the darkness and though Sam didn't know if it was possible or not, at least not off the top of his head, they decided to play it safe and sleep in shifts. Since Dean had just woken up and was in far less serious condition despite the heavily gauzed and stockinged tear in his forearm and the oozing skin tears along his chest, abdomen and back from Eddy Jay's touch, (he'd been hard pressed to come up with an explanation for those but decided to take the strange option declaring their attackers had been armed with some kind of tank that had burning cold stuff in it) he let the medical folks fill in the blanks.

One things' for sure, whether it's possible or not, I'm pretty sure that's what happened… he thought and looked over at Sam, Why you Sam? Besides being the psychic wonder that you can be… why you? Is that the only reason? I'll say this much, that son of a bitch shows up here I'm gonna pump it so full of… whatever's in these things that there's no way they won't work! Don't you worry Sam, I won't make the same mistake again, I'm not putting you at risk for my own…stuff…his raw fingers slid over the cold steel of the gun on the bed beside him and he nodded. Nothing was going to get past him.

--

Please… I know I'm probably driving you all crazy but it's important…

Sorry it's another slow one but at least it's short… shrug can't help myself.

need to know… wha ch'all think?

Thanks

sifi