Coma
Chapter Eleven
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Supernatural, unfortunately, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Any character you don't recognise from the show, I probably own. Oh, yeah, and I got the idea for the creature at the beginning from the Banned and the Banished book series by James Clemens, so I don't own the idea for that, either
Warning(s): Some violence; swearing; spoilers; some horrible parts
Author's Note: Once again, thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed this fic so far. It really means a lot!
Brief recap of previous chapter: Sam was back in the strange dream-forest, where he made out a bit with the woman, before remembering that he'd lost something. When Dean appeared there, the spell was seemingly broken – but the image was a trick created by the woman to get Sam to lower his guard.
In the hospital, Doctor Nelson mentioned to John about the previous coma victims, and Jody agreed to show John the reports of them.
Meanwhile, Dean went back to the apartment, and he and Amber made out a bit, before they heard the sound of smashing glass.
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Dean's form flickered and faded from view as the woman's form began rippling, as if water was moving under her skin. Her skin then began bubbling, as if the water had been heated to boiling point. Sam backed away as a huge, tentacled creature burst from the woman's body, and sent an octopus-like limb in his direction.
Sam ducked, and the suckers just about missed him. The fog had completely dispersed from his mind – but that wasn't helpful right now.
"Come here, Ssssamy," the creature hissed in a sibilant whisper. "Don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you… much." The thing that had once been a woman crawled forward, poison dripping from the side of its fanged mouth.
"Yeah, right," Sammy muttered. He noticed that the creature didn't have any obvious eyes. But if that's the case, then the other senses would have evolved to make up for that.
"Where are you, little Ssssammy?" the creature crooned, its bulbous head sweeping from side to side. "Come on… I can give you all you want. There issss no need for you to wake up. Sssstay here, and nothing can hurt you anymore."
Sam looked around, making sure to stay right where he was – just in case the creature could hear him. Of course, there was always the possibility that the creature would be able to scent him out. He just had to make sure to find some kind of weapon and get to it before that happened. Of course, it would be helpful if he could remember any more information other than the mere basics about the demon.
I guess she's thought of everything… There's no sign of anything I could possibly use against her.
A low growl escaped the creature's throat as two of its tentacles pulled its huge body across the grass. Its head continued to move around, seeking for any sign of Sam's presence. "You can't hide forever… There'ssss no esssscape, no way for you to wake up and be free of me. I've made ssssure you'll be here long enough for me to track you down."
Damn! Sam thought, trying to work out just how to get out of this. And what about his brother? He really hoped that nothing had happened to Dean – but there was no way of knowing for sure. How was he supposed to wake up? How was he supposed to fight this demon, when he couldn't remember most of what he had learned about its species?
A third tentacle reached out, the suckers brushing almost lovingly across the grass. Sam flinched as the limb approached him. Those suckers looked to be about as big as his fist, and he imagined they were pretty powerful as well. He could imagine them being able to suck the skin off him, which was not a pretty image.
"There you are, little one…" The tentacle whipped through the air and wrapped around Sam's neck.
Instantly, he raised his hands to try and pry the tentacle from around his throat. His eyes bulged, and his throat felt like it was constricting. As the tentacle began to tighten, red spots began dancing in front of his eyes.
Abruptly, the tentacle released him, and Sam collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath. Gingerly, he touched his throat, relieved when he didn't feel anything damp that could have been blood.
The creature laughed, which somehow sounded wrong coming from it. "No… I won't kill you yet. I sssstill don't have all I need, and I don't want you to die before I'm ready." The creature's mouth twisted into what could have been a smirk. "Now… Why don't we talk a bit more about Jessssica?"
Sam flinched as the image of Jessica bleeding and on fire came into his mind. As if the demon's words conjured her spirit up, Sam watched helplessly as her eyes opened and looked accusingly into his.
Why, Sam?
"No…" Sam whispered, his tone almost pleading. "Please stop."
The demon laughed. "Why sssshould I sssstop, Ssssammy? We're jusssst getting sssstarted here. I wonder… What elsssse issss there to sssshow you?"
Sam closed his eyes for a moment, already feeling drained. Did the demon intend to use every weakness against him? He wouldn't be able to stand it, and not just because of the draining effect.
"Amazing…" the demon mused. "It'ssss sssso eassssy to drive even the sssstrongesssst persssson to desssspair. You will fall againsssst me eventually. Although, I would have preferred to be able to work on your brother. Sssstill, never mind. You're almosssst assss good."
At the mention of his brother, Sam's head jerked up. So… she isn't the reason for Dean being in a coma. And yet… From her words, it was clear that the demon was after his brother as well.
I can't let that happen!
Gritting his teeth, Sam pushed himself up off the ground, and, with some effort, was able to get to his feet. He didn't know how the demon had fed off him – but he was certainly feeling drained and weak. Despite that, though, he was determined. "You're going to stay the hell away from my brother!"
"You are in no possssition to make demandssss." The tentacles waved wildly from side to side, and one whipped towards Sam again.
This time, Sam was ready for it. As the tentacle swept towards him, he ducked, and just felt it brush over the top of his head. As the demon started to pull its tentacle back, Sam used his reflexes – honed from years of hunting – and grabbed the tentacle as hard as he could in both hands.
The demon let out an unearthly scream, and its other tentacles thrashed wildly about. Sam had to let go of the tentacle if he didn't want to get knocked off his feet, but he felt hot liquid drip onto his face as the tentacle was pulled away. He could taste a small amount of iron on his lips.
At least I remembered one thing… The tentacles are really sensitive.
Of course, now the demon was really mad. It screamed again, causing Sam to wince and clap both hands over his ears. All the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck rose. The sound pierced through his ears, and Sam felt something trickle out of his nose to join the demon's blood.
As the tentacles whipped towards him again, Sam fell to his knees, suddenly severely weakened. He was dimly aware of a strange mist obscuring his vision, and the sound of the demon screaming in rage, before the forest just seemed to melt away.
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Sam opened his eyes to find that his shoulders were being shaken, and that someone was calling his name with obvious panic in their voice.
"Sam? Sam! Wake up!"
"I'm awake," Sam mumbled, lifting his hands to push the person away. Blurred features swam into view to reveal Jody. She was staring at Sam, her eyes wide. He struggled up into a sitting position, and closed his eyes a moment. "What are you doing back here?" His head felt musty, and he could feel something a little damp below his nose.
"I thought that maybe I should come back," Jody replied, sitting up and chewing on her lower lip. "Are you all right? You're… bleeding." She made a vague motion around her nose and mouth.
Sam raised a hand, and wiped at the skin just below his nose. He looked at his fingers, and wasn't too surprised to see blood there. Looking up at Jody again, he gave a frown. "You left after I warned you not to." He was feeling incredibly weak, and almost like he was about to be sick.
Jody shrugged, glancing away a moment. "I couldn't just stay here and do nothing. Melissa already died because of this. I don't want anyone else to. That includes your brother… Dean," she corrected herself.
"Dean…" Sam repeated, feeling a little drained. What happened? I still remember him. Does that mean the demon's beaten, at least for now? "Is he all right?" Sam demanded. "I take it he hasn't woken up yet?" Sam attempted to push himself up, but frowned as he found that his legs wouldn't support him. "Damn…" I want to get to the hospital to see him before I go to pick up Missouri from the airport, but I don't think I have the strength to move right now.
"No, he hasn't woken up yet…" Jody's voice trailed off, and she stared at Sam a moment. "Wait… You didn't actually argue with me calling him your brother."
"That would be because I remember him," Sam answered. "Now, at least…" He paused a moment, then asked, "Do you know of anyone who's mentioned seeing a tentacled creature in their dreams?" He didn't really want to get into what the Vereor demon had said to him, but it was important he find out if there might be a connection between it and the coma victims.
"A tentacled creature?" Jody seemed to think about it for a moment, but then she shook her head. "I don't think so… What is it?"
"A Vereor demon… A fear demon," Sam explained, seeing the look of confusion on Jody's face. "It feeds off a person's fear, despair, anger – all the negative emotions someone feels. To begin with, they adopt a form that's generally pleasing to the eye, and unthreatening." Free of the demon's dream forest, Sam found the information about the Vereor flooding back into his mind.
Jody frowned. "What are you saying? That this… demon went after you? But… you forgot about your brother."
"I still felt like I was missing a part of myself." Sam sat up, and put his head in his hands a moment. "I believe that it was attempting to drain all the hope out of me; make me feel that I wasn't going to escape." Sam wasn't sure he was explaining it too well – it would be much easier if Dean was around. He and Sam had been hunting all their lives. As far as Sam was aware, Jody hadn't done any hunting at all. "What about my brother? Has anything changed? Are they any closer to finding out what's caused the coma?"
Jody stood up, biting at her lip again and fidgeting with her hands. "Well… um…"
"What is it?" Sam narrowed his eyes, his eyebrows drawing together. "Did the doctors find something?"
"You, er, could say that." Jody hesitated a moment. "My uncle said that he ran some more tests on your brother. Sam, he… your brother… Dean, he… They found traces of alcohol and sleeping pills in his system… a really high dosage."
For a moment, Sam could do nothing but stare at Jody. It took a little while for her words to even register on his mind. When they did, he quickly shook his head. "No. I don't care what you're thinking; I don't care what the doctors found. My brother would never have tried to kill himself."
"Are you sure?" Jody asked, sounding a little hesitant. "I mean… The substances were found in his system. The tests wouldn't have lied, right?"
Sam shook his head. What's going on? Are all of these things connected? "Do you know if this has happened to anyone else? If any of the other victims have had strange substances show up in their bodies?"
Jody shook her head. "I glanced at a couple of the reports before I handed them over to Doctor Herring. They didn't seem to mention anything out of the ordinary – well, apart from the whole dying-after-waking up from comas thing, of course. And I did ask my uncle about whether any members from the previous victims' families had suffered from memory loss," she continued. "He denied it… in a round-about kind of way."
"Doctor Herring?" Sam frowned. "He works in the hospital?"
"No… He's a specialist; he was asked to come take a look at your brother. I'm pretty sure that he's sincere…"
"Oh." Sam realised that his strength was gradually returning. He hung onto the side of the desk, and pushed himself up. He wobbled a little on his feet, but was able to stay standing without support.
"Are you all right?" Jody started to reach out, as if to help him, but then stopped.
"Yeah, I'm fine. What time is it?" Sam suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be picking Missouri up at 3.30. Just how much time had he spent in the Vereor demon's dream forest?
Jody looked at her watch. "Almost 2. Why?"
"Didn't your uncle mention the friend I have to pick up? She's flying in today – somehow, she managed to book a flight almost immediately." Sam debated a moment over whether or not to mention to Jody about Missouri's powers, but he decided against it. Jody could find out for herself. Besides, it was possible that Jody wouldn't believe him. Not to mention the fact that it wasn't up to him to talk about Missouri's 'abilities'.
"Oh, yeah… Do you want me to come with you? Just in case you can't find the airport or something."
"Nah, I can find the airport," Sam said. "What I want you to do is stay right here and not let anyone in, no matter what. Are we clear on this?"
"Huh?" Jody frowned. "What do you mean? Why shouldn't I let anyone in? What about answering the phone?"
Sam held up a hand, attempting to try and stop the flow of questions. "I'm not totally sure. However, I think that whatever's causing these coma victims to die – it's either taken on the guise of someone in the hospital, or someone in the hospital is working with it. There would be no other way for this thing to know when the victims wake up otherwise, and it doesn't seem to be just random."
Jody shook her head. "But I know most of the people in the hospital," she protested. "I wouldn't think that any of them would do something like that."
"Ever seen any detective shows, crime shows? It's always the person you least suspect." Sam hesitated a moment, and then sighed. "Look… I don't know what's responsible for this, but some supernatural entities will make… bargains with a person they want help from. They will usually offer a person something, be it power, immortality, fame…"
"Oh…" Jody looked confused, but she was also pale and shaking a little. "So… What do I do? Don't you want me to try and find out more information?"
"Do you have a cell phone?" When Jody nodded, Sam continued, "I want you to use that – and your computer – to try and find out anything more on the coma victims. For instance, see which doctors were working on them; what they found out. Also, if you can get hold of anyone who worked on the cases – find out about any similarities with Dean's case. Namely, the appearance of strange substances – and memory loss, weakening, and so on, from relatives."
"You think it's connected to that… Vereor demon in some way? No, of course you do." Jody sighed. "All right." Then, she gave a confused frown. "Wait… Why do I need to use my cell phone? I have a perfectly good phone right here." She pointed to it on the desk – as if Sam couldn't see it for himself.
"It's possible your phone might be tapped." Sam sighed, and ran his hands through his hair. "Listen, I'll give you a call when I'm on my way back, and that way, you can work out pretty much when I'll be back. Other than that – don't open the door to anyone," he reiterated.
Jody sighed. "Ok – I guess," she muttered. "You'd better get back soon, though – I'll be climbing the walls if there isn't a whole lot to do."
"Yeah, sure." Sam headed towards the door, still feeling a little dizzy – but he was sure the feeling would pass eventually.
"Sam?"
Sam paused, and turned round to face Jody again. "Yeah?"
Jody hesitated. "Well… you'll need to… prepare yourself – I guess – for the possibility that the appearance of the alcohol and sleeping pills in your brother's body might not be caused by all of this…" She bit her lip slightly. "I'm sorry – I'm not explaining this too well."
"No, you're explaining it perfectly," Sam replied. "But trust me – Dean would never have done something like that. Drink, yes. Take an overdose? No way." Without waiting for a response, he simply walked out of the study and made his way downstairs.
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Dean glanced towards the kitchen door, and then at Amber again. "I'm gonna check it out. You stay here."
Amber frowned. "Yeah right I will. I'm coming with you."
"The hell you are." Dean walked towards the door. "It could be dangerous, and hey, guess what? I don't put people in danger." Well, he didn't if he could help it. It partly went back to the whole not-telling-anyone-what-he-did thing, but mainly to do with not putting people who were basically 'civilians' at risk.
"Nothing short of locking me up is going to make me stay here."
"Now there's an idea." Dean glanced at the kitchen door as he passed it, and frowned. There's no lock… Maybe I could drag her to the toilet? Of course, that would mean actually knowing where the toilet downstairs actually was. And it was possible that taking her there would mean walking straight into danger. "All right," he muttered. "But you'd better stay safely behind me. I mean it. You won't like what happens if you don't."
Amber didn't make a reply, but Dean could hear her footsteps quietly following him. He took her silence to mean that she was conceding to what he said – no matter how much she may not like it.
The whole apartment was quiet at that moment, and Dean couldn't help feeling a tiny sliver of worry. He did wonder if he might have finally cracked under the strain of hunting supernatural entities – but Amber had clearly heard the sound as well, so they couldn't both have gone mad. And did a mad person even know that they were mad?
Of course, there's always the possibility that I really have gone mad and am not in a parallel world at all, but locked up somewhere in a nice padded room.
The sound seemed to have come from the living room. Well, Dean didn't know that for sure – but that was where he was headed. It seemed like as good a place as any to try.
Dean suddenly came to a stop, and then turned round to look at Amber. "Get me some salt from the kitchen."
"Huh? Salt?" Amber looked at him like she thought he was crazy. "Why do you need it now? Surely not to put on fish and chips like you claimed before…"
"Here's a suggestion. Why don't you not argue, and just do as I've asked?" Is it really my fate to be stuck with people who continually argue over most of the things I tell them? He was really beginning to get tired of this.
"Fine," Amber muttered. She turned and headed back into the kitchen. A few moments later, she came out with a salt shaker, which she handed to Dean. "Here. I don't know what you're planning to use it for – though I'm pretty sure that throwing it someone's eyes won't do much to incapacitate them."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Dean started walking again, resisting the urge to look continually over his shoulder just to make sure that Amber was staying close. There wasn't a whole lot he could do to force her to stay right behind him – and the sound might not have been a cause for alarm.
Yeah, right, because breaking glass in a room you know hasn't got anyone in is so commonplace.
Dean moved carefully into the living room, making sure to keep a firm hold on the salt. It was currently his only weapon against the supernatural. Note to self – get a gun as soon as possible.
There was a tall, black-haired man standing in front of the far window – which was broken – his back to Dean and Amber. Usually, Dean would have attacked straight up with something that he was pretty certain was harmful. However, not only was he unarmed – apart from the salt – and protecting someone, he was also pretty certain that the man knew they were there – and attacking him would serve no purpose right away.
"Stay close to me," Dean hissed to Amber. Not sparing a glance behind him to check that she was obeying, he proceeded to scatter the salt in front of them, creating a line of protection.
"What are you doing?" Amber whispered. At least she had enough sense to keep her voice quiet.
"Trust me," Dean replied, not taking his eyes off the man.
At the sound of their whispered exchange, the man turned round. His eyes gleamed with a feral light, and his lips drew back to reveal teeth elongated into sharp fangs.
Dean started, and then began pushing Amber back with his free arm, trying to herd her out of the living room. This can't be real! But it clearly was. He had thought that vampires only existed in legend. But maybe that was simply the case in his world? Behind him, Amber had gone quiet – probably shocked into silence.
Can't blame her. Hell, I'm the experienced hunter, and I can barely believe it.
"Vampire." Dean stared at the creature, wishing even more that he had some kind of weapon. He was pretty sure that salt wasn't going to work on it.
Suddenly, faster than the eye could see, the vampire lunged. The salt didn't seem to bother it at all as it hit Dean hard in the side of the head, sending him flying into the wall.
Dean blinked a few times, trying to clear his mind. His head had smacked violently into the wall, but he paid little attention to the pain. As he struggled to his feet, he saw the vampire wrap its arms around Amber – as if in a lover's embrace – and lower its fanged mouth to her throat.