thank you all once again for the great reviews. wow, i gotta say, i wanted to have this up sooner but my brain just shut down after last night's episode. that was just amazing.
i hope you all enjoy the newest chapter.
ETERNAL
Chapter 10
"Would you stop looking at me like I'm about to break in half."Kerri began, raising tired eyes to Dean.
"I wasn't." Dean answered a little too quickly, looking away at the accusation. In all seriousness he had been staring at her, but he just couldn't help it.
She seemed stronger, seemed fine, but he knew that it was just an illusion. Kerri was in danger, and he didn't know what to do to fix it. For once he couldn't just walk up to the bad guy and shoot, couldn't just salt and burn some bones and be done with it. Everything was spiraling out of control and he didn't know what to do to stop it. He couldn't destroy the painting and, even if he could, there was no way of knowing if it would help Kerri or not. All he knew was that, as soon as Bramhurst was done with her, she was going to die.
"You're looking at me again." Kerri spoke up again a few minutes later. And, sure enough, Dean was watching her once more.
"What are you, five?"
"Well, if you would just admit to the fact that you're looking at me, we could move past this."
"I wasn't looking at you."
"You've been staring at me for the past two hours. I'm fine, Dean, let it go."
"You're not fine, and I am not gonna let it go. What if it was me?"
"What if what was you?"
"What if Bramhurst didn't take that much from you? What if we get him to let you go, but because of me you're too far gone?"
"I already told you, none of this is your fault."
"Thanks for the lie."
"I'm not lying."
"Yeah, sure."
"Whatever, Winchester. You're gonna blame yourself for this no matter what, so I might as well just save my breath."
"What's the supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. You'd probably blame yourself if the sun flared out."
"That's an exaggeration."
"Is it?"
Dean just glared at her before turning back to the computer. She was one of the only people besides Sam that could really read him, that could really figure out what was going on inside his head. Sometimes that was a blessing, but then sometimes it was a curse. Dean had spent his whole life putting up walls, keeping people out, but the one person he could never truly keep away was Kerri.
He didn't know if it was because she had been through the same thing he had when they were little or if she just had some weird way of worming through all his defenses. Whichever it was, Dean was secretly grateful for it. He had been forced to carry such a heavy weight for so many years, that the idea of someone begin there to share it, someone being their to help lessen the burden, was almost more than he could hope for.
Yes, he had Sam, and his little brother tried to help, but Dean couldn't put that weight on the shoulders of the person he was supposed to protect, supposed to save. Sammy had enough to worry about without having his big brother's problems thrown down on top of him as well. He was supposed to be normal, supposed to be at school, supposed to be safe, and Dean couldn't help but try to give that to him. And he knew that Sam would never be what he wanted to be if he was forced to worry about his slowly fading brother.
Dean didn't have many things to give, but if he could protect Sam, if he could give him just a little bit of the innocence that he craved, then Dean was going to to his best to provide that. After all, Sam was his responsibility, his only job, and there was no way he was going to let himself screw up. His little brother had too much potential, had too much going for him to lose it all to his lack-luster brother. Sam was something special, something more than just a hunter, and there was nothing in heaven or hell that would change that.
But Kerri, well Kerri was a different story entirely. Yes, Dean had promised to protect her, and that was a promise that he would keep till his dying breath, but she wasn't someone that he had to keep sheltered. She knew what was out there, had chosen to be a hunter as she grew, and most importantly, she had been someone for Dean to lean on since the age of six. She had saved him all those years ago, had shown him that it was possible for life to go on, and in doing so she had lifted a great weight from him.
And now he may have killed her, may have stolen something from her that he could never give back. He knew he should have stayed away, knew he should have let her live her life in peace, but something just wouldn't let him do that. Ever since she had left that note, ever since she had stumbled back into his life, Dean had been at constant odds with himself. A part of him wanted to stay with her, wanted to be with her again like they had been as children, but another part was afraid of hurting her, afraid of putting her in danger, and he just didn't know what to do. All he knew was that he couldn't stay away, but every time he saw her, she ended up in harm's way.
His cell phone brought him out of his internal prison, Sam's name flashing across the screen. He had gone out on re-con while Dean looked over Kerri. The elder Winchester had insisted that Sam stay behind, but then his little brother had pulled the logic card on him again. Sam was a guest, and, while Bramhurst didn't like his guest wandering around the house alone, it would be easier to explain away. After all, Sam was supposed to be there and, while they were all certain that William knew he was hiding out, it would be better for all involved to keep Dean hidden as long as possible. Much to the elder hunter's disappointment.
"Yeah?"
"How is she?"
"A pain in my ass."
"So, back to normal."
"Yeah, all is right with the world once more. Find anything?"
"Nah."
"Sam, you've been gone for two hours."
"Yeah well, I've spent about an hour and a half of that trying to hide from a horny woman."
"Charlotte?"
"How do you know her name?"
"Lucky guess."
"Dean!"
"We really don't have time for this now, Sammy."
"We'll talk about it later."
"Yeah, yeah, says you. Anything about Bramhurst?"
"No one has seen him since he was at our table."
"So I take it he isn't really the hostest with mostest."
"Apparently not."
"Where are you now?"
"Uh, I'm heading towards that painting."
"Sam, don't!"
"What?" Kerri pipped up, Dean's shout waking her from a light sleep. "What happened?"
"Dean, calm down." Sam's voice crackled through the phone.
"Sam, don't go near that thing."
"Dean."
"No! We don't know what it is, and we don't know what it's doing to Kerri. Stay away from it!"
"Alright, alright. I'll stay back."
"Promise."
"What?"
"Promise me, Sam."
"I promise, Dean, ok. I'm sorry."
"It's fine. I just, I don't want to chance it."
"Yeah, ok, that's fine, Dean. Look, I'm just gonna come back there."
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Did you find anything else out about the missing girls?"
"Yeah, I was talking to Margaret Edmonds, she seemed kind of partial to some of the girls. She's been suspicious of Bramhurst from the beginning."
"Did she mention why?"
"Yeah. She said---."
"Sam?" Dean asked, scanning the phone as his little brother's voice cut out. "Sam?" But he was met by nothing more than static, the call indicator still flashing that he was connected. "Sammy?"
"Dean? What's wrong?" Kerri asked weakly, sitting up on the bed.
"I don't know. He just cut out mid sentence."
"Maybe you lost the call?"
"No. No, something's wrong." Dean began, rubbing his hands over his face as he scanned the room. He grabbed two pistols, a silver knife, and some back up rounds from the pack on the floor before moving to Kerri. "You think you can walk?"
"Yeah." She answered as strong as possible, Dean helping her off the bed.
She swayed for a moment, Dean holding her tightly until the dizziness passed, his frantic green eyes searching her heavy lidded blue ones.
"You sure you're up for this?" He asked, his voice soft, hands still holding her thin arms tightly, afraid she may fall to the floor without his support.
"Yeah, I'm fine, I just stood up too fast."
"Kerri?"
"I'm fine, Dean, really. Where's Sam?"
"He was heading towards that damn painting when he cut out."
"Well, I feel alright now, so he must not have made it there."
"Yeah, I think he turned back. He was about to tell me something but then he was just, gone."
"I'm sure he's fine. Maybe the storm knocked something out."
"Yeah, maybe."
"Let's just take things one at a time, before we jump to the worst case scenario."
"The way our lives go, the worst case scenario is usually what we get."
"Then we're due for a bit of good luck."
"I certainly hope so." Dean sighed, staying close by Kerri as they walked, ready to catch her at a moment's notice.
He couldn't help but be worried though, couldn't help but focus on the worst case scenario. Sam was missing, somewhere in the biggest house Dean had ever seen. One minute his baby brother had been on the phone and the next, well the next he was just gone. Yeah, they had been in worse situations, much worse, but that didn't lessen the feeling of foreboding that had fallen on the elder Winchester. Bramhurst was up to something, he could feel it in his bones, and not just Kerri was in his cross-hairs, now Sam was there as well.
"So." Kerri began, leaning more on Dean than she intended as they made their way through the ornate halls. "What are you gonna tell people if we get caught?"
"I'll just say I'm kidnapping you for ransom." Dean smirked, resting his hand on her back.
"Don't quit your day job."
"Huh?"
"Charlotte made it quite clear that I was a poor little hoe that married into money."
"What! Where the hell does she get off."
"Don't let her get to you. She thinks that about all the girls that went missing. Hell, I think she thinks that about all the girls period."
"She thinks you married Sam for money." Dean stated again, a smile growing on his face.
"It's not funny."
"But, you're our sugar-momma."
"I am not anyone's sugar-momma."
"Well, Sammy and I aren't exactly rolling in dough. And you're one of the only people I know with an honest income."
"I know. But she isn't seeing Sam Winchester, she's seeing Sam Connors, a well known art dealer."
"Wow. Give that kid some fancy clothes and a fake name and he can go far."
"Oh yeah, right into the arms of a conniving old woman."
"I gotta say, I do feel sorry for the guy. I've been with some scary women, but that one. Wow. This way." Dean whispered, pulling Kerri along with him.
"This place is like a maze."
"Yes it is. You know, I used to think that your house was too big, but this is just ridiculous."
"Yeah, well--."
Before Kerri could finish Dean wrapped an arm around her waist, the other covering her mouth as he pulled her back around the corner, his grip growing stronger as they stood. He continued to hold her, mouth covered as they both ducked into the small space behind a pillar, the sound of footsteps growing ever closer. Dean held his breath, Kerri trembling in his arms, a new conversation floating to them from mere feet away.
"Mr. Bramhurst." They heard the butler begin, silence following.
"Yes, Sir. I did find the boy wandering right where you said he'd be……... No Sir, he shouldn't be a problem………. I am on my way there now…………. She seems fine, though I do think they have an accomplice somewhere on the premises…………. No Sir, it's just--. Yes, Sir."
The butler huffed, clicking off his cellphone and continuing down the corridor, obviously more than a little annoyed with his boss. But Dean didn't care about that, all he cared about was his brother. That man had done something to Sam, done something to take him out of the game. And Dean swore then, that if that sniveling man did anything to seriously hurt his brother he was going to rip him in half.
Dean felt a gentle tug on his right hand, suddenly remembering that he still had a death grip on Kerri. He looked down sheepishly, dropping his hand from her mouth, but still holding her by the waist.
"You're breaking my bones, Dean."
"Sorry."
"It's alright, just give me a little warning next time."
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. But, Sam."
"Chetling came from over there, I didn't lose the call that long ago so Sam can't be far. Come on."
"Dean, Bramhurst knew that Sam was wandering around."
"Yeah, I heard." Dean stated quickly, his gun out and ready as he scanned the halls before him. He didn't know who was watching, didn't know who was on their side and who was working for William. For all he knew, everyone was a suspect, everyone was out to get them, to tear them apart.
He barely noticed the whispering that had picked up all around him, barely noticed just how close to the painting he actually was. He was too busy thinking about Sam, too busy worrying about how to get them all out of there, to worry about where he was going. He needed to find Sam, needed to get rid of the painting, and then he needed to get them all the hell out. He was almost at the corner before he regained his senses, falling back against the wall as he broke out of the powerful trance. He had almost done it again, had almost taken more of Kerri's life away from her. It had been close, too close. And, worst of all, was that he knew Sam wasn't there, knew his brother had turned back before he got that far.
"Damn it, Kerri, we gotta get away from here." He breathed, closing his eyes before turning towards his friend. But, when he opened his eyes, his heart nearly stopped. He was completely alone in the large corridor.
66666666666666
Kerri was beyond dizzy. If she had to describe it, she would have said that she was floating, lost in a sea of colors and sounds. She didn't see the corridors, didn't feel the marble walls that ran beneath her fingers, didn't feel Dean's arm around her. Everything was just lost to the rolling sea around her, the paintings and sculptures molding together in stomach churning synchronicity. All she wanted to do was get away from it, to lay down, make the world stop its spinning.
Someone was feeding off the painting again, she could feel it. It was like every ounce of strength was being sucked out of her, racing from her veins in torrents. She was cold and hot at the same time, her head pounding, eyes falling closed as her battered body ached for sleep. She wanted Dean, wanted someone to lean on, someone to help keep her on her feet, stop her from falling. But he was lost somewhere in the whirlpool that was her senses.
But then, just as quickly as her world had started its spinning, it stopped, everything falling back into place. She stood there for a moment, leaning against the closest wall she could find, hoping against hope that she could keep whatever was in her stomach down where it belonged. She took a few deep breaths before finally turning back towards the corridor.
"Dean?" She called out, her eyes falling closed despite all her efforts to keep them open. She was so tired, her legs giving out beneath her as darkness danced at the edge of her vision.
She didn't question the arms that wrapped around her, didn't question the body that she fell into, the man that lifted her up as she finally gave into the darkness. No, she didn't question it for a moment as William Bramhurst pulled her just a little bit closer and headed off down the deserted corridor.