If it was possible for the monster to smile, Dean would have sworn this one was. A frozen moment, face to face in a staring contest with something that wants to make a three course dinner out of you, was not Dean's idea of a good time. He didn't have time to admonish himself for allowing this to happen. His concern for Sam had made him sloppy. The manitcore inhaled and belted out the evil grumble, "Mine"
"Ah..man…." was all Dean could utter before the manticore raised in front paws and pinned him to the floor. Dean's body was trapped under the beast's underbelly. He pumped his legs wildly into the animal's abdomen, which only seem to pi it off more. Dean hadn't felt this desperate since the scarecrow's field. His fingers fumbled at his waist. The creature reared it head and swiftly shifted down, its mouth gaping. Its teeth bore quickly towards Dean's skull.
Dean's hand grasped the hilt of his gun and fired three shots, point blank into the beast's belly. The beast hoisted and shook his head madly in pain. The evil brute's roar shook the barn's structure as Dean rolled out from under him. Dean boosted himself to he legs then darted to the open barn door.
The manticore regained its footing and lunged towards the escaping Dean. It managed to clip Dean, sending him crashing into the barn's wall. Blood oozed from the side of Dean's mouth. He quickly shrugged off the blow, relatively unharmed. The beast was bloody, but the bullet wounds did little to impact actual harm to the thing. The only significant wound appeared to from Dean's close encounter- not that Dean wanted to get that close again. The creature snarled. It adjusted its back legs to pounce once more. Dean's gun expelled the last bullet, the creatures body was fast falling upon him again. He up righted himself, pulling the gun from his ankle holster. Carefully aiming, Dean fired into the only apparent wound. The monster landed in a thudding pain inches away from Dean. Dean used the opportunity to sprint for the door. A shadow of a second later, the manitcore revived. This time, the creature's appendage found truer aim and sent Dean crashing out door. Dean's body spiraled, landing with a resounding wallop at the cornfield's edge. His body remained motionless as the creature took a step out of the barn door.
Dean shook his head and rolled onto his back. Pushing back the aches, Dean scrambled to his feet. The manticore advanced a few feet out of the door. It turned in a circle and sniffed the air, then snapped his head in all directions. It plunged towards him, missing Dean by mere inches. The beast landed head first into the cornfield. As Dean rushed towards the Impala, the manticore pushed his way back from the field. Dean didn't have time to be thankful for his luck.
Dean quickly popped the trunk. Immediately, he shoved as much as he could into a duffle as he glanced every other second towards the manticore. Recovering from its mishap in the corn, the beast repeated the circle pattern, sniffed the air, and turned his head back and forth. Dean smirked as he realized the miss was not luck, but something that might work in his favor.
"You can't see in the light… you son of a bitch".
However, hearing didn't seem to be a problem. The beast rushed towards Dean. Grabbing an ax before slamming the hood down, Dean swung at the oncoming fiend. The ax severed part of the front claws. The beast responded by snapping in the air repeatedly attempting to find something of Dean's to chomp. Dean stooped to prevent the animal from taking a bite out of him. The manticore devised a different tactic and started swinging the triple tipped tale at the ground. Dean stooped lower and rolled away as strike landed next to his shoulder. As he shot to his feet, the manticore vaulted his tail towards Dean again. A stinger brushed and entered his left leg.
"Ahhh.." Dean fell to his knees. The creature retracted his tail, allowing Dean enough time to pull a gun from the duffel bag. Dean fired at the creatures other eye, hitting his mark with his uncanny accuracy. The creature reacted madly. Using his teeth, tail, and claws wildly, the creature moved with no real logic.
Dean winched as the pain shot up from his leg, but hobbled to the doors with as much haste as he could. He was thankful the newest injury caused enough bother to divide the creature's attention between lunch and pain. Dean swung the barn doors to close and latched them, leaving at least some barrier. Glancing around, Dean chuckled at himself when he discovered a brace for the barn door.
Using his right leg to boost himself into the tractor seat, Dean started the engine. At least the tractor would be useful after all. After parking the tractor as a door brace, Dean eased himself onto the barn floor.
His leg wobbled and buckled beneath him. He removed his belt and fastened it to his upper leg. His body flushed with fever causing the room to spin. He shook off the urge to give into the poison.
Dean shoved the ax into his duffle, and then slung it over his shoulder. He quickly located the ladder and shambled unsteadily up the rungs. Dean felt as if his body was wilted, containing no substance to nourish the desires of his mind. The manticore had already started slamming into the barn door. Dean's head bobbed as he slumped into the barn loft. His body trembled as he struggled to pull the ladder into the loft. With great effort, Dean accomplished this task. Sweat poured over his face and his body quivered. He took two steps towards Sam before he smashed harshly to the floor. His breath came in pants.
"I'm sorry… Sammy…I've…failed…Dad and yo….." Dean shuddered and convulsed and his mind slipped into darkness as he tried to focus on Sam's face.