Chap. 2 Sleepwalking

By the time he and his brother were climbing into their adjacent beds in the sorry little shack they'd rented, Dean was thoroughly glad they had left the possessed house so quick. Sam had been looking very tired. Inwardly, Dean still wondered what had taken place back there when Sam had seemed to have fainted and then shivered big-time like it was zero degrees. And just who was the female ghost who'd laid hands on him?

Sam wrapped his arms around his soft white pillow and let his tousled head hit the cotton. "Work to do. In the morning," he mumbled.

"You don't have to remind me." Dean grinned amusedly. "I'm settin' the alarm for 8:00."

"Goodnight, Dean," Sam near whispered. He'd already closed his eyes.

"'Night, Sammy." Dean fiddled with the alarm clock and then lay down too.

Sam was asleep in two minutes. Dean lay awake thinking about the strange ghost for a full ten minutes before he finally drifted off.

Both Winchester brothers slept.

Sam was dreaming.

A church bell was ringing. Ringing in his head. Sam followed the sound across the road. Only, he didn't see a church.

"Hey, Dean, do you think we'll get there soon?" he asked.

No answer.

"Dean?" Sam whirled around. His brother was with him, right?

All of a sudden, Sam glimpsed Dean walking a little way ahead of him.

"Hey!" Sam hollered. "Dean! DEAN!"

Dean didn't so much as turn around. He just kept walking on steadily.

Sam had the feeling his older sibling was headed straight into danger. He couldn't explain it—just a terrible sensation of impending doom.

"DEAN!"

Sam watched as his brother was swallowed up in darkness. He was left standing all alone in the road.

Something sharp struck his head. Sam looked up. Glass particles were raining down from the heavens.

And then, his surroundings ebbed away and nothingness took over...

Dean rolled over in his bed, sensing that something—he didn't know what—was prompting him out of sleep. Not yet, not yet. If I can just avoid it…. It was no use. Dean's eyes shot open.

And immediately strayed over to his sibling's empty—yes, empty—bed.

Where was Sam?

Dean looked around the room. No sign of his tall brother. He flung back the covers and quickly checked the bathroom. Nothing.

Dean hurried downstairs. That was when he saw it—the front door was open.

Why? Just why? Why would Sam leave in the middle of the night?

Dean seized his jacket from its hook by the door and stepped outside. The Impala was still parked in the yard. Sam must not have really left, then.

"Sam! Sam?"

Suddenly, Dean glimpsed a towering, fully-dressed figure with a thick sheaf of hair making its way towards the trees. The light of a waning moon shone down on him.

"Hey! SAM!" Dean ran. Strangely, Sam did not turn his head at his shout. His brother walked forward slowly, falteringly. Sam lifted his head to the wind as the night breeze swept back his long locks.

Finally, Dean reached the younger man. "What are you doin' out here, dude? It's almost midnight."

He took hold of Sam's arm, turning him around to face him. Sam fixed him with a dull, languid look, his eyes unblinking. He didn't open his mouth to speak.

Dean was confused. Sam didn't look like himself. It was as if he was staring right through him.

"Hey…Sammy?" Dean shook Sam's arm. Unexpectedly, Sam pushed him aside and ran towards the Impala.

"Hey, I don't have time to race you!" Dean charged after his brother. Sam reached the car and began to climb up the back of the Impala. His thick hair tumbled into his face. He suddenly went limp, resting his cheek against the sleek metal. At that moment, the truth dawned on Dean.

His little brother was sleepwalking.

"Okay, Sammy, okay," Dean comforted, his voice now more gentle and patient. "You can't sleep atop my baby, but there's a nice bed waiting in the house over there. Let's get you back to bed, huh?" Dean gripped Sam and gingerly slid him off the car's hood. He set him on his feet and guided him back towards the shack. Sam's footsteps dragged, but Dean kept him going.

Once they were in the house, Dean helped Sam up the stairs and into bed. He covered him with a warm blanket, and Sam immediately started breathing in a relaxed, rhythmic fashion. He was asleep.

And as for Dean…well, Dean was seriously rattled.

Sam had never sleepwalked before.

Why had he suddenly started now? Right after that ghost had "caressed" him? And it was full-blown sleepwalking, at that. His brother had actually dressed himself, unlocked the door, and gone outside, all while asleep. The leaving the house was what freaked Dean out the most.

Dean stared at Sam's now peaceful, still form. He decided he would wait a bit before he went back to sleep himself just to make sure his sibling didn't rise again.