Chapter 10

The intense glowing heat made sweat pour down his face, into his eyes, the moisture fogging his glasses that mirrored the flickering blaze. Sheer panic held an iron grip on his heart as he watched the wave of flames flooding towards him. Sam drew in a sharp ragged breath when a sheet of the inferno rushed him, refusing to grant Kingston the pleasure of hearing him scream. He pressed his body against the wall, wanting more than anything for the old walls to cave and grant him exile from the painful death he feared was coming. The rush of fire seemed to stop a mere foot in front of him, the licks of flame dancing, spreading out, and forming a wall that encircled him, but never advanced further towards him. He was trapped.

Through the orange-red barrier, he made out the shape of evil disguised as mere man, watching him, taunting him. Sam choked on the thick black smoke and lowered himself further to the ground trying his hardest to prevent death by asphyxiation before he had a chance to kill the bastard. As if the gods favored him, Sam caught sight of the ragged book that had been torn from his grasp minutes before a good distance to his left; the flames licking dangerously close. He shot his arm out quickly, the radiating incandescence burning against his skin. The pain of which forcing him to let out a muffled scream. He swatted the book towards him and hurriedly clutched it to his chest.

"That's not going to help you, Samuel." The raspy voice mocked as he inched closer, walking through the billowing flames as if they were nothing but air. "Dean's going to save you, remember?"

"And if I die first?" Sam croaked, his lungs burning from the lack of oxygen. He couldn't last much longer.

"Oh, Sam, I don't want you. I want Dean. Dean's not going to come in if everything is nothing more than ash, including you." Kingston stepped through the fiery barricade that held Sam in place, and looked down at the young man's huddled figure.

"You don't know my brother!" Sam uttered a smug grin on his face "He'd still try to kick your possessed ass."

It was that statement that sent Kingston tossing his head back in a roar of wicked laughter that shook the entire cabin. He snapped his back forward, and Sam gasped at the sight. Kingston's narrow eyes shone coal black against the orange glow, his faces covered in deep folds of skin that twisted and shifted into a pattern of horrible scars. The pale skins that once covered the former teacher morphed into a scaly black and the smell of sulfur filled the air.

Kingston furthered his approach and Sam flinched back. Kingston caught sight of the withdrawal, and quickly shot his gnarly arm out grabbing Sam by the throat, drawing Sam's lanky form to his deformed face. Sam gulped back the rising bile in his throat as the demon's split ashen lips offered challenge.

"Let him try."

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Dean forced his foot down harder against the accelerator, watching the needle rapidly approaching 100. He threw a cautionary glance on either side of the road, reminding himself not to be completely unaware of the existence of local law enforcement. Last thing he needed was a set back.

He'd originally thought having the cops on his side would be in his favor, but after running the third stoplight in a row, he reasoned that it was extremely early and the chances of them being out were apparently slim. And also, if Kingston had his little brother, and thought that Dean was "cheating", then, he probably wouldn't hesitate to finish whatever it was he'd already started.

The highlighted numbers on the dash read 4:30 furthering Dean's sense of urgency. He'd let the situation get out of control. He was the older brother. He should've protected Sam like he was supposed to and told him that there was no way in hell he was going to let him do an exorcism alone. He should've stuck to his brother's stupid 4-beer rule. He should've taken Kingston out the first time they went to the cabin. He should've screwed around and did his training rather than doing stupid homework assignments for possessed psychotic teachers. He should've...he should've….

Dean slammed his hand against the steering wheel over and over again, issuing ardent, frustrated cries into the silent car as every emotion and fear he'd worked so hard to avoid and crush, surfaced with a vengeance. His trembling voice pleaded to the dark early morning sky for blessed time--time to reach his brother and time to save him yet again, time to live, to see the rest of the world, to see his father and thank the man, time to say everything he'd ever wanted to, to absolutely every person he'd ever wanted to. Unshed tears blurred his vision, and he cursed himself for even letting them appear, as memories from the past presented themselves.

The heat of the fire on his young face, the terrified confused screams of his father as he commanded his eldest into action. The feeling of his heart threatening to leave his chest when the younger was placed in arms and the throbbing in his little hands and he fought to keep his Sammy safe in his arms. The look of his father's face as his hero watched his life burn away, and the sinking of a young heart upon realizing something, someone, was missing from his.

A wavered breath escaped Dean's lips as he sharply turned the Impala into the forgotten drive and saw the abandoned cabin in the distance, the glimmer of yellow flame radiating through the cracked-paned windows. He reached down beneath the seat for his flask of holy water, and exited the car. Running madly into what would be another haunting fiery night to mark his twenty-seven year existence.

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Sam struggled to take in another ragged breath. His entire body leaning limply against the small piece of safe cornered wall. The early throbbing of his head had dissipated, but was now replaced with the one thought of sleep. Just sleep. It all would be better then.

His eyelids drooped and his head lolled to the side resting on his shoulder. He numbly fingered the book in his hand, taking interest in the crinkling of the worn pages as the sound played within the crackling of flames. A steel grip jarred him from his state of semi-consciousness, and one weak look into the black eyes sent him into a state of complete coherence.

"Never sleep, never die." The demon stated coolly.

"Let me go." Sam moaned, trying to jerk his wearied body away from the demon's vice on his shoulder. Kingston released his grasp and stepped back to view his prisoner's slumped form.

"Pity, your brother isn't here to see this, isn't it? When do you suppose he'll come?" Sam rolled his head, jutting his heaving chest forward, so he could rest it against the hot wall. He relaxed his body after such a strenuous movement and tensed again slightly as a low familiar rumbling filled his ears. A weak smile graced his lips as he cast his eyes back toward Kingston meeting his black stare.

"He's here now." Sam heaved, the smile appearing once more at the sound of his brother's voice calling his name.

"So he is. Now, if you'll excuse me, Samuel. I have a student I must attend to." Kingston turned on his heel, and headed out the room casting a look over at Sam before exiting completely "Don't worry, Sam, you're the one whose going to survive this little encounter."

"Don't you dare hurt my brother! You hear me! I'll send your ass right back to Hell!" A torrent of panicked screams left Sam's lips, hurled at the demon's back. The room appeared to shift before him, the wall of fire that had imprisoned him waned considerably, but the smoke waxed ten-fold.

Sam fought hard for each breath, his back arching in his efforts. The room no longer contained any form of pure air, only the black smoke that filled his starving lungs encompassed the room. Tears leaked from his eyes, and he felt his consciousness draining. He refused to give in, and with the few ounces of energy he could muster, Sam pulled the old book to his face, and flipped it the dog-eared page. Through heaves of lacking breath and waves of dizziness, he painfully read the chant that would free his brother from his death creed, the verse that would grant him clean air once again. Fire would not claim his family again.

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Dean threw the cabin door open violently, surprised to find the handle unaffected by the heat ravaging within. As he stormed into the deserted area, he drew in a sharp breath at its barrenness. There were no flames, no sparks, not even a mere flicker in the open space, yet the fire had begun. He ran towards the flash of orange-red against the back hallway and feared gripped his heart as he screamed his brother's name repeatedly never receiving reply.

Dean could feel the heat brushing against his already fiery skin, and was halfway towards his goal when a wall of fire suddenly formed before him. Dean's breath caught in his throat, as he backed away, his eyes darting wildly as to find the cause of such a creation. Dean felt his body brush against something and turning around to view it, beheld the form of his former teacher.

"Nice of you to finally show, Mr. Winchester. My patience only lasts so long." Dean stood frozen fearing to move, lest he be singed.

"I suck at that whole fashionably late thing. Always overdo it." Dean offered with a tense smirk, his brow etched in concentration as he worked to get his flask from his back pocket.

"Do you find it better to joke at times like these? When your brother is choking to death waiting for you to save him only so that once you do, you can die a slow, painful death." Kingston spoke pointedly, his coal eyes searching Dean's features, his senses feeding off the young man's fear.

"Slow and painful, eh?" Dean muttered, unscrewing the top off his flask, before hurling its contents at Kingston, whose shrill shriek pierced Dean's ears. "Not as painful as that."

Dean put his jacket over his mouth and stealthily maneuvered through the bouts of flames. He frantically entered the inflamed study and screamed out the younger's name upon viewing his crumpled form. Dean rushed to Sam's side, stunned and proud to hear his little brother's murmuring of the Latin text. He reached down and picked Sam up, searching the room for any sign of Kingston before heading toward the door, although knowing that Kingston would wait until Sam was safe, before igniting him, for the simple fact that he'd written it so.

"I got you, Sammy. It's okay. You're gonna be ok." Dean chanced a quick look at his brothers pale face and was relieved to see the sliver of a smile there.

"D-d-..ha..nish…" Sam gasped, twisting in the elder's arms to better view the tattered page, his breath harsh as he started the final stanza.

Dean held onto Sam as tight as he could as he raced down the hall, passing the hunched, quivering form of an enraged Kingston that was stationed at the end of the hall, grinning maliciously as he watched as the elder whisk the younger to safety, and allowing him passage. Dean grimaced at the sight of the thing that manipulated his fate, and was thankful Sam, for once, didn't bear the brunt of his mistake.

"I—I love you, Sam. Tell Dad I love him too, k?" Dean wasn't sure if Sam had heard him or not, because his brother wheezed one final word before dropping the book where it fell unceremoniously to the floor.

A sickening wail penetrated the brother's ears. Dean fought for his balance, tightening his grip on his brother's listless body, as the foundation beneath them shook, and the doorway that granted freedom seemed to have disappeared into oblivion. He stumbled and met the ground when Sam shifted, a small cry escaping the younger's mouth as he landed beside him. A gust of hot air rushed over their fallen forms, and a deep roar echoed from behind followed quickly by a rapid flash of burning heat that bathed the cabin in blinding white light. In its wake, the flames that had been held idle by their instigator were loosed, encompassing the cabin within seconds.

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Okay, so there ya go! I used a line from my fav Evenescence song in there...so giving them credit, and if you follow the band you know what it was. And lemme know if there was any confusion over the plot or anything like that...also just what you thought! Have a great night/day and thanx for reading and reviewing, makes me want to get typing!