Rebound Echoes of Oblivion's Last Mile

by Servant of Fire

AU. Azazel visits the future and sees that his plans ultimately fail. Rather than risk losing, he will capture his "Best Horse" and turn him into the Vessel himself. When Sam's visions are triggered too early by Azazel's torture, he sees all of canon-Supernatural before it happens. He goes for Dean, to stop the Apocalypse before it ever starts. Set in 2004 and on.

2. Chapter 2

He lays tossing and turning in the bed, flicking his bangs in his face. Dean reaches up and brushes them away every time he does. He has an IV line for extreme dehydration. The doctors and nurses chalk the constant muttering and anxious sputtering up to this. Dean knows better. Sam has had an encounter with something that goes bump in the night.

Dean shook his head, watching him sleep. He'd often watched him sleep when they were young. When they were young, however, watching Sammy sleep peacefully while the rest of the world seemed to burn and reel around them was a great comfort. Now he felt his heart squeezing up his throat as if his blood was toothpaste, for the pain of watching this tormented dreamer.

"Yellow eyes, yellow eyes, he had yellow eyes. I saw... I saw..."

He said it over and over. His new mantra.

"You saw what, Sammy? What did you see?" Dean whispered, hoarse now from his jaw hanging agape in horror at his poor brother thrashing in this hospital bed when he was supposed to be faraway charming co-eds.

"I saw...the end...the end of all things..." Sam whimpered. His eyes leaked open. He was talking in delirium now, not in his sleep.

"The man with the yellow eyes came said I...said I was chosen...Chosen by him. The best horse of the worst race, he said. Rigged from the jump. He drowned me...he drowned me, he baptized me in blood. Yellow eyes. He had yellow eyes!"

"Okay...Shh..." Dean pushed Sam's bangs out of his wide and staring eyes again. He called his father for the 47th time. No answer. None had been expected. It was a force of habit.

Dean sat down heavily and looked into Sam's eyes.

"He killed Mom."

Dean wasn't sure he'd heard that right.

"What did you say?!" Dean's voice squeaked, childlike in his ears.

"The thing...with the yellow eyes...He killed Mom."

Dean stared at him in a stupor. Sam whimpered, teeth clenching in pain and fear. His head rolled on the pillow, hair spreading his face for the umpteenth time, as he passed out, surrendering again into the cold of whatever dark night took him to Hell and henceforth.

Dean reached down and pushed Sam's hair out of his eyes again.

He called his father for the 48th time, cringing at the busy tone.