THROUGH FIRE AND WATER

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Chapter 2

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Given their history, it was no surprise they were cautious around fire. It sucked since handling fire was basically a part of their line of work - like salting and burning the remains of the restless spirits they came across. But no matter how many times they watched the orange flames lick their way through the dug-up corpses, no matter how many pyres they stood by or how many flicks of their zippo lighters they made, Sam knew that he and his brother would never truly be comfortable around fire. Not after what happened to their mom. To Jess. That was why Sam now felt his mouth go dry and his heart pound rapidly as a wall of heat rose behind him from where the wendigo had dissolved.

"Sam!"

Dean's voice cleared Sam's mind of the flashing images of past fires and pulled him back to the present. The sight of Dean rushing down the trail towards him was like a beacon as Sam struggled to run through the water. His leg was still aching from the previous hunt, but the pain didn't bother him as much as the impending threat did. The heat and the roar of the fire kept increasing by the second, and all Sam could think about was reaching his brother.

If he could just get to Dean, it'd be alright. He'd be okay.

Dean had pulled him from more than one fire in his life; had literally carried him out of their burning house at the age of four – then dragged him out of another burning house twenty-two years later when Yellow-Eyes had burned Sam's girlfriend on the ceiling. If anyone could save him from this inferno, it was Dean.

Sam was so close, so close to reaching his big brother when the fire, that'd been behind him a second ago, suddenly cut straight through his path and forced him to halt his escape.

"Dean!"

Shielding his face against the heat, Sam squinted to get a glimpse of Dean through the flames. The heavy smoke made him cough violently and his eyes watered.

"Dean!"

He was stuck. The fire had efficiently cut off his escape route and had prevented him from getting to safety. From getting to Dean.

Panic threatened to overwhelm him. The heat was getting worse, and the smoke more suffocating. Sam sucked in short, raspy breaths while the same words kept repeating themselves inside his head; I'm gonna die in this fire. I'm gonna burn to death.

"-am! Sammy, listen to me!"

His head snapped up at the order. Dean was waving his arms manically - most likely to catch Sam's attention - and then pointed at something to Sam's right.

"You start climbing that wall! You hear me, Sam? Climb! I'll reach you halfway!"

Sam faced the direction his brother indicated. Part of the water in the cave was still free of the flames. If he climbed the steep cliff wall in the middle of it, he could reach the ledge from where he and Dean had entered the cave.

Sam turned his head back to his brother.

"You can do it!" Dean encouraged.

When Sam nodded his understanding, Dean started running back up the trail. Sam aimed for the cliff wall as he moved through the water once again. It got deeper quickly, and he had to swim the last bit of the way.

Even with the fire imminent behind him, Sam felt much calmer now that they had a plan. Climbing the rocky wall would be quite a challenge; it was very steep, and Sam didn't have any equipment. However, Dean would help him out. It was gonna be okay.

With his wet clothes sticking uncomfortably to his skin, Sam held on to a pointy rock with one hand and used its support to pull himself upwards. His other hand reached up to the next rock, while his feet found purchase underneath him.

It was easy enough to find rocks to hold on to; the cliff side was full of them in all shapes and sizes. They were slippery as hell though – which was a bad combination with the steepness of the cliff. At the same time, the smoke was getting more and more suffocating. It made Sam cough harshly.

"Hold on!" Dean shouted from above. "I'm coming for you."

Sam squinted up, trying to catch a glimpse of his big brother as he coughed again. Although his eyes watered, which caused his vision to blur, he saw Dean's worried face peek down at him from the top of the cave wall for a second before disappearing again. Sam let Dean's words comfort him and his shaky fingers searched for the next piece of rock to aid his ascent.

Small pebbles suddenly rained down from above. Sam coughed and squinted up once more. A piece of rope was dangling from the ledge; the end of it unfortunately several feet up and out of reach. The soles of Dean's boots made an appearance over the edge of the cliff, and the rope started swinging back and forth as Dean began to rappel his way down.

"Almost there, Sammy. Hold on."

Sam stopped his ascent, tired muscles straining as he held on to the cliffside. The end of the rope was almost within arm's reach now – Dean also nearly there. It was relieving since it was getting harder to breathe now. The smoke was thick and scratched Sam's throat with every inhale, his coughing getting more intense.

"Hey, you still with me down there?" Dean's voice sounded a tiny bit muffled. Sam could tell why as he looked up and saw the bandana covering his brother's mouth and nose. It meant that at least one of them was protecting their lungs from inhaling smoke right now.

"I'm with you." Sam confirmed, happy to know Dean was so close now since he struggled to keep holding on to the cliff. "Let down your hair, Rapunzel?"

Dean snorted.

"We both know you're the one with the princess hair, little brother."

Dean reached down, and Sam let go of the rock he was clasping with his right hand to accept Dean's offering hand. The ground underneath his right foot suddenly gave away and caused him to slide down several feet.

"Sam!"

"Dean!" Sam gasped, frantically tried to grasp onto something, anything, to prevent his descent.

Loose pebbles slipped underneath his hands, making him slide down further. He broke the skin of his fingers, and his arms got sliced open on the jagged rocks in the process. Sharp pain exploded when his chin connected with a solid rock, and black dots blocked his vision. Then, he was suddenly free falling.

"Sammy!"

Sam caught his own fear reflected in Dean's wide eyes, the second before he crashed through the surface of the dark water below.

_ SPN _

Sounds were different underwater. Muffled. Quieter. Sam barely registered the roar of the fire anymore; it sounded more like a distant sizzling as he sank further and further down.

People said drowning was a peaceful way to go. Much more peaceful than burning to death would ever be, Sam reckoned. There was no way he could climb back up the cliff wall now anyway, so Sam closed his eyes and let himself go lax as he finally accepted the inevitably.

I'm sorry, Dean.

Running out of air, Sam tried to take in a breath. Water immediately filled his mouth and throat, choking him. Suddenly, strong arms grabbed his shoulders and pulled, and before Sam fully realized what was happening, his head suddenly broke through the surface.

Sounds returned to him like a tidal wave. As he coughed up water and gasped for breath, he could once again hear the roar of the fire – along with Dean's soothing words in his ear.

"That's it, Sammy. Breathe." Dean encouraged. One of his arms was secured around Sam's chest while the other one held onto a rock, keeping them both topside.

"D-Dean." Sam choked and coughed up more water. He strained to keep his head above surface, but Dean's arm around him effectively kept him from slipping back under. "We're… we're not gonna make it, are we?"

He felt Dean tighten his grip around him and pull him closer.

"You s-shouldn't have jumped in a-after me." Sam continued, teeth chattering from the cold water. "If you climb back up now, you could still…"

"Shut up, Sam. I'm not leaving you."

The fire was getting closer. Now that Sam was done choking on water, he was once again struggling to breathe through the heavy smoke. This time he wasn't panicking though – not with Dean pressed against his back as a comforting presence.

"Listen… if the oil somehow made it into the cave…" Dean began.

"… then there must be a-another way out." Sam realized and huffed out a small chuckle. Dean was always smarter than he gave himself credit for.

"Exactly." Dean confirmed. "So we're not giving up yet, little brother. Come on. Help me out here. You're extremely heavy for someone who eats kale."

Sam felt Dean drag him along – away from the fire – and he tried to kick his heavy legs as much as possible. His body ached in so many places, but Sam did his best to breathe through it. There were really no other options at this point.

They moved along the cliff wall as they searched for an exit. At one point, they had to get dangerously close to the flames, but they managed to maneuver past it - although barely. Sam could still feel the burns on his skin. On the other side of the blaze, the cave was narrowing in until they ended up swimming through a slim canal.

They were moving terribly slow now. Sam figured he was not the only one who was running out of energy. Besides, he wasn't the only one who was hurt either. Dean had hit his head quite seriously when the wendigo had attacked, and Sam knew you could only go so far before adrenaline wore out.

"Dean? You okay?" Sam asked at one point when he felt his brother's grip on him loosen.

He didn't receive an answer. Instead, the arm around his chest suddenly disappeared completely, and Sam immediately slipped below the cold surface. Flapping his arms wildly and kicking his legs, Sam managed to get back up.

"Dean!" He gasped, head snapping back and forth in search of his brother.

It was dark though and therefore nearly impossible to see the surroundings. If only they hadn't lost their flashlights… Sam desperately splashed around – searching, searching and…

There.

He almost sobbed in relief as his fingers tangled in some fabric, and he tugged until his brother reappeared from the water. In the dim light, Sam couldn't tell if Dean's eyes were opened or closed, but he did feel Dean's warm breath on his neck as he hoisted him up.

Relieved, Sam dragged Dean with him until he connected with a flat piece of rock. He used his last strength to lift Dean halfway up on it before trying to get up on the rock himself. It was useless though. Sam had no strength left, and he started to slowly slide back into the water. A hand then shot out and grabbed his shirt.

"Shit! Sam, I've… I've got you." Sam heard Dean say as he was pulled against his brother's side again. "It's my head… I must have… I must have blacked out for a second, but I've got you now. Sam? You with me?"

"Yeah." Sam replied although he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Come on, we gotta move."

"I can't. I'm so tired, Dean."

"Just a little while longer. Come on, Sammy. We're almost there."

Sam didn't know if Dean really believed that, or if he was just trying to keep their spirits up. Either way, Dean's arm slipped around Sam's chest before he moved them both through the water once more. This time though, Sam was completely drained. He tried to help but it was mostly Dean who did all the work.

"There! I see light!" Dean suddenly panted and Sam heard the relief in his voice. "There's the exit! It's right there, Sammy. You see it? Sam?"

He didn't see anything.

_ SPN _

There was a lot of commotion when Sam came back to. He was on his back, lying on something hard. Some sort of board? A stretcher, maybe? There was a lot of noise and shouting voices. The wind felt strong. He shivered. Bright lights blinded Sam as he tried to open his eyes, so he shut them again immediately. A mask had been strapped to his face and was blowing air into his mouth and nose, something sharp prickled his wrist.

"Sir? Can you hear me?" Someone asked. "What's your name?"

"It's Sam." An all too familiar voice answered. "He's my brother."

Dean.

Sam forced his eyes open and tried to search for the source of his brother's voice. His head wouldn't move though – it was kept still by something… a neck brace, he realized. It was frustrating. Sam tried to push himself up but was immediately pushed back down.

"Please stay still." A female voice said.

Sam ignored it and was about to give moving another go when Dean's face suddenly appeared in his line of vision. His brother looked like hell; pale face covered in soot and blood – a white bandage wrapped around his head.

"Welcome back." Dean greeted him with a big smile. "We're in a helicopter, dude! How awesome is that?"

Sam frowned.

"I thought you hated flying?"

"Oh…" Dean's smile disappeared – only to reappear on the freckled face a moment later. "I think they gave me morphine."

Dean grinned, and Sam felt his brother squeeze his hand. "You're gonna be fine, Sammy."

Sam returned the smile and squeezed Dean's hand back. They were both gonna be fine.