"Screw this."
Of all the reactions he expected, the hitch of fear in Dean's voice wasn't among them. Why shouldn't he be afraid, though? If they didn't figure out how to stop this, and soon, Dean would be... Sam didn't bother finishing that thought. They'd find a way to break... whatever it was that had a hold of him.
"Whoa, Dean." He kept his tone light, easy, calming. "Come on. We'll figure something out. Like we always do."
Sure, the lack of any physical remains hindered them from doing a simple salt-and-burn. Yeah, it made putting an end to Luther Garland almost impossible. They had difficult hunts before. This one, however, kicked open a door inside of Dean, and let out a flood of crap Sam wasn't expecting.
"Come on, Sam." Frustration stung the air between them. "What are we actually doing here?!"
"We're, uh, hunting a ghost."
At least, I thought we were hunting a ghost? He wasn't rightly sure anymore. Whatever was going on with Dean didn't fit with Bobby's theory about ghost sickness. His reactions seemed driven by something that went deeper than ghost sickness.
It wasn't dying, he knew that. Dean routinely scoffed at death. Claimed he'd go out bloody. Sam suspected this had something to do with his time in Hell. They'd yet to discuss what happened during his four months down under. Dean claimed he didn't remember anything but Sam had his doubts. He went to ask him what was wrong but Dean surprised him by tossing his arms into the air in a quick, excited move.
"Exactly!" Dean darted a look around the empty parking lot. As if he expected something to jump out at him any minute. "Who the hell else does that?"
"Uh..." Sam frowned his confusion. "Us?"
"And that?" Dean jabbed a finger at him. "That's exactly why our lives suck."
Sam's frown deepened. Where was all this coming from? Before Sam could ask, Dean continued his tirade, the words coming faster and faster now, and tinged with an alarming amount of fear, desperation, and panic.
"I mean, come on, we hunt monsters, Sam!" Dean paced back and forth. Like a lion or tiger that got trapped in a small cage. "What the hell?! I mean, normal people, they see a monster, and they run. But not us, no, no, no, we..." Indicating them with a finger. "We search out things that want to kill us. You know who does that?" A pause. Then, "Crazy people!" exploded from him. "Face it, Sam, we are insane!"
"Dean..."
His brother hadn't finished his train of thought, though. No, if anything, his thoughts spiraled off into a whole new territory. One Sam wasn't sure he wanted to tread.
"And then there's the-the-the bad diner food and the skeevy motel rooms and the truck-stop waitress with the bizarre rash." Sam grimaced at that bit of unwanted information. "I mean, who wants this life, Sam?" Dean started to pace in small, tight circles. "Do you actually like being stuck in a car with me eight hours a day, every single freakin' day?" He barked a laugh. "I don't think so! I mean, I drive too fast. And I listen to the same five albums over and over, a-and I-an-and I sing along."
The words came even faster than before, almost tripping over themselves as they poured out of Dean's mouth. They hurt Sam to hear but there wasn't anything he could do. Not until he got out whatever was inside him.
"I'm annoying, I know it. And you... you're gassy." He cut his eyes to him. "You eat half a burrito, and you get toxic."
"Dean..." He kept his voice carefully, neutrally blank. Getting snappy wouldn't get Dean to calm down. And he needs to calm down before he gives himself a heart attack. "Calm down. We'll..."
"You know what, Sam? You can forget it."
He tossed the car keys at him. Not to him, he realized as he caught them. At him. Almost as if he needed to get rid of them before they exploded in his hand or something. Dean then spun around and started walking away from him.
"Dean, where are you going?"
"Stay away from me, Sam, okay?"
"Dean..."
"I am done with it, Sammy. I'm done with the monsters... and... and the hellhounds and... and... the ghost sickness and... and... the damn Apocalypse! I'm out. I'm done. I quit."
He left Sam standing there in that parking lot, flabbergasted and confused, and afraid of what would happen if they didn't figure out how to fix things.
And quickly.
A/N: Hello, all. Hope this finds you well! This is tagged to 4x06.