Turns the Sky to Gold

Sam jerked awake, only the state of his throat telling him that he had somehow managed to keep from screaming. Not that it really mattered since both Dean and John were staring at him, John from his own bed and Dean from the chair by the small motel room table.

"You okay now, Sammy? Was that a regular nightmare or something else?"

Sam shuddered, rubbing a hand over his face with a tired sigh. "I'm pretty sure it was a vision, Dean." He winced and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I've certainly got the post-vision headache."

"What did you see, Sam?" It was obvious that John was trying to hold himself back and not push too hard, and even if he wasn't quite managing it Sam appreciated the effort.

He closed his eyes for a moment before taking a deep breath. "I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the Demon or if it's just something random, but there was a woman with solid black eyes."

John nodded. "That's a sure sign of possession. Was there anything else that might tie this into the Demon?"

After a moment's thought Sam shook his head. "I don't think so. She was obviously performing some sort of summoning ritual, and there was a man lying on the ground inside the summoning circle. He looked unconscious, and there was blood in his hair."

Dean frowned. "Sounds like the demon's using him as a sacrifice in the ritual. Which means that he's probably an innocent."

"Sam, could you tell what the demon was trying to summon?"

Sam closed his eyes, trying to remember exactly what the symbols on the ground had looked like. After a long moment, he shook his head. "I'm not sure, Dad. It looked familiar, but I'm not sure where I've seen it before."

John sighed, visibly trying not to push Sam to try harder to remember. "If you figure out what it was, or where you saw anything before, let me know. In the mean time, we need to pack up and get to wherever this was happening." He paused. "Could you tell where it was, Sam?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I saw enough that I can probably look it up without too much trouble. I am pretty sure it was somewhere in the desert, though."

Dean looked up from where he was packing their duffle bags. "How could you tell?"

Sam shrugged. "It felt really hot and dry, and all I could see out the building's window was bare earth. And something about it just felt like the desert to me."

"Well, son, if you think it felt like the desert then that's where we'll head. And once you can figure out something more specific we'll go from there."

Within half an hour Sam had the information he needed, all thanks to a billboard for some local attraction that he had caught a glimpse of in his vision. Half an hour after that the three Winchesters were on the road, John in his truck and Sam trying to catch a nap in the passenger seat of the Impala while Dean drove.

Despite his exhaustion Sam was only able to sleep for a couple of hours at a time, and even then it was fitful. Eventually he just gave up, shifting until he was at least somewhat more upright in the seat. "Where are we?"

"Should be in Arizona in about another hour or so. You get enough sleep, Sam?"

Sam nodded, biting back a yawn. "I'm fine, Dean."

Dean snorted. "That wasn't what I asked, Sammy. So I'm taking it as a 'no.' You think you can get another couple of hours at least?"

Sam shook his head, slumping as much as he could in the seat. "I doubt it. I just can't seem to get comfortable, and I think my headache's coming back. Plus, I feel sort of...twitchy."

"Twitchy, Sam? This a new side effect of the vision, or something else?"

Sam shrugged. "I'm not sure. I don't think it's a side effect of the visions, though. It feels almost like a side effect of this vision in particular. It's almost like I'm racing the clock and I'm falling behind."

Dean frowned, glancing at Sam out of the corner of his eye. "You think it has to do with the demon chick, whatever it was she was summoning, or the guy she was using as a sacrifice?"

Sam shrugged again. "I don't know, Dean. Whatever's going on is important, I know that much, but not why or how. And it's really getting frustrating."

Keeping one hand firmly on the wheel, Dean reached over and patted Sam's knee. "We'll figure it out, Sam. The two of us and Dad all on the job? Demon chick doesn't stand a chance."

"I hope you're right." Sam sighed, fidgeting until he was a bit more comfortable and closing his eyes. "Because I think whatever's about to happen is going to be seriously important. To all of us."

Dean squeezed Sam's knee, keeping his eyes on the road to give Sam at least a little privacy. "It'll all work out, Sam. I promise."

Sam kept his eyes closed, pretending to fall asleep. He knew that he wasn't fooling Dean, but he also knew that so long as he pretended to sleep Dean would let him. It was a signal they'd come up with years earlier to let the other know that talking was temporarily out of the question. And Sam had taken advantage of that fact more than he really cared to think about since Jess's death.

He was fairly sure that he would have to talk about things eventually, since not even Dean's incredible dislike of emotional moments would keep him from pushing things if he thought that something was wrong with Sam. The problem was that even Sam wasn't sure just what was wrong. All he knew was that whatever was coming was going to change everything.

And he had no idea whether that change was going to be for the better or not.