Oh where, Oh where has your big brother gone?

Disclaimer: as per the first chapter, nothing changes much anyway!

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CHAPTER 18

John slowly moved testing each of his arms and legs making sure that he hadn't broken anything else when he fell. Then, satisfied the only break was the original one in his arm; he opened his eyes and after a few seconds was able to focus on his new surroundings.

Pulling himself up he sat against the wall and brushed the fragments of glass from his clothes and hair; gradually he pushed himself up against the wall until he stood on shaking legs. Risking a bout of dizziness he looked up to where he had fallen from but there was nothing, only a dirty ceiling with patches of mould on it.

'What the?' John muttered startling himself with his own voice. Cradling his broken arm close to his chest he followed the wall towards a faint light in the distance, after walking for sometime John realised that he was in the maze that had trapped Sam not long ago. Sam, his youngest son, the most vulnerable of the three to the demons he was blind and confused. Dean, his right-hand-man had been tortured and tormented he was close to breaking point and now John could do nothing to help his sons.

Stumbling he crashed hard against the wall gasping in pain as the fractured bones moved in his arm.

'So John it is just you and me now.' Decebal's voice floated through the air.

'Where are you?' John stared around wildly as he spoke, 'show yourself.'

Decebal materialised in front of the hapless human, 'tsk, tsk John you really should take better care of yourself.'

'Where are my sons?' John asked ignoring the sarcasm.

'They are safe for now, depending on what you decide to do.'

'What do you mean by that?'

'Well it seems that your headstrong sons have trouble follow orders...'

'Gee now as if I didn't know that.'

'So I think that their father needs to lead by example.'

'What are you?' John's eyes widened as he watched Decebal's face change, the eyes flames of red and black turned to yellow feral-cat eyes. The face changed and morphed the jaw elongated and twisted until it gave a more wolf-like jaw filled with razor sharp fangs. The cheeks became sunken and the eye sockets protruded until the eyes dominated the upper part of the face, or what was left of the face. The body started to implode into itself as the bones and muscles snapped and moved reshaping and reforming the entire skeletal frame. Sinews shuddered and burst as it seemed to lose all of the external skin, now it stood taller than Sam, blood and viscous fluids dripped from the bones and muscles as it shrugged itself and a thin almost transparent skin formed over the body.

With a clicking sound as it moved, it strutted towards John, drool dripping from the fangs; it threw back its head and roared before it turned its eyes back to John, the feral-cat eyes changed back to the flaming orbs.

Unable to move John watched in fascinated horror as the creature approached him, his mind screamed to his body to move, to run but he was frozen, unable to move or to tear his gaze away from those eyes.

The creature ran a clawed finger down John's cheek, in a tender caress before it took John's head in both of its claws, running a thick rough tongue along the jaw line it grinned and then reared its head down towards John's face, forcing its lipless mouth over the human's in a grotesque kiss as his essence entered John.

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Dean watched over his brother as the vision passed and Sam gradually became aware of where he was. 'Sammy?'

'Dean?' Sam asked turning his white-eyes towards Dean's voice. 'Where's Dad?'

'I dunno Sammy, but what about you? What did you see?'

'See? Oh the vision.'

'Yeah the vision, Haley Jo what did you see?'

'I – ah fragments, I saw this creature, not Decebal but it was ... Dad, Dad he wasn't and then argh I dunno Dean it wasn't a normal vision.'

'It's okay Sammy we'll work it out, but first I think we have to get out of here.'

'You go Dean, I'm just gonna hold you up.' Sam said sadly as he felt for something to use to help haul himself up on.

'Yeah right as if I am gonna leave you, while you got dunno what with your eyes, Dude they are truly freaky!'

'Thanks for making me feel better Dean.'

'No problemo so we gonna go find Dad and get outta here so we can get someone to fix those eww milk-eyes ... quit staring at me like that.'

'Dean honest to God when I get my sight back ...' Sam threatened suddenly feeling better, their banter usually annoying after a while of constant Dean sarcasm, made him feel less panicked.

'Yeah, yeah you and what army?' Dean took Sam's hand and placed it on his shoulder, 'just keep up with me Dude.'

'Oh yeah right, so what are you? My seeing-eye brother?'

'Oh, oh funny Sammy, very funny.' Dean couldn't help grinning; this was the first time in a long time that he and Sam could actually tease each other.

Little by little the two younger Winchesters made their way out of the room and down the corridor, Dean kept close to the wall and made sure Sam kept his hand firmly on his shoulder. After a couple of stumbles and Sam walking on his heels, Dean finally got them moving as one, he couldn't help smiling at just how trusting Sam was. Of all of the times when he had to protect or save Sam this time was one of the few when Sam was very vulnerable to attack and not know it. Just stick with me Sammy, I swear on all we know we're gonna find someone to fix your eyes.

Almost as if he could read Dean's thoughts, Sam squeezed his shoulder, 'we're gonna get out of this Dean, the three of us are gonna get out of this and my sight will get be fine.' He whispered just loud enough for Dean to hear.

Blinking back the sudden hot tears Dean grunted an answer and patted Sam's hand, as he guided him back into that maze.

TBC

Author's note: sorry bout it being a bit shorter than usual but the shoulder is aching this morning, anyway I think it works leaving it here, building up for the big finale in a few more chapters, thanks to everyone who has kept going with me on this particularly difficut and often painful journey and for your reviews.