Chapter 4

Grabbing hold of the door, Dean swung it wide, and stepped out into the bright light. It was a sharp contrast to the interior of the little room that was really nothing more then a prison cell. Every color was more vibrant then the next. The sun was high in the sky, burning bright red, the sky itself an unnatural shade of orange. And looking out into the vast desert that stood before him, he had a pretty good idea that he was totally screwed. It looked like someone had dropped him in the middle of the Sahara desert, with nothing to be seen but sand.

"You gotta be kidding me? This is so not funny. How the hell am I supposed to find a river in the desert?" The little confidence Dean had gained by figuring out the riddle at hand and been totally squashed when he stepped out the door, and into the world beyond.

"Ok, think Dean, junior year, science class, Miss Carmichael. Ooh, yeah, Miss Carmichael, there's some happy thoughts. Good thing she had my attention. Deserts can have rivers, flowing from the north. Guess that means I gotta go north. Shit, which way is north?"

Searching the area for something remotely resembling a pole, Dean was pretty sure he saw something off in the distance, standing out in the flat landscape. His visibility not obscured in the least, he had no idea how far it actually was. He walked and walked, never seeming to close the gap. And the more he walked, the hotter he got. The sun was merciless, beating down hard on everything around, making the area desolate and dry. He was covered in sweat, the clothes he wore sticking to him uncomfortably. And he was truly beginning to think he was in actual hell.

He'd just walked, not really paying attention anymore, when he smacked dead on into the object of his mindless trek.

"Son of a bitch!" The pain was intense, as the needles of the tall, thin cactus embedded themselves in his chest and face, instantly covering his already saturated shirt in small pools of blood. "It's about damn time."

Removing one of his shoes, he placed it at the end of the shadow the monster plant cast. Then he just sat down, and picking out needles from his face and chest, waited..

The instant Sam saw his brother ram right into that god forsaken cactus, he let out a cry of pain that even he wasn't sure had actually come from his mouth. It was horrible, and it made Bobby cringe the second he heard it. Breathing heavily, he fell to his side and tried to regain some sense of reality. His face and chest felt like they were on fire, blood staining his cheeks and saturating his shirt almost instantly.

Bobby saw the almost instantaneous change to crimson on Sam's shirt, and grabbed a pillow off the bed, stripping the case off in one swift move. He yanked off Sam's shirt, and started wiping the blood away. What really got to Bobby was the fact that even though Sam was bleeding like a disemboweled animal, there were no puncture wounds anywhere to be found. Just the blood, and obvious pain. Thankfully, the more needles he saw Dean pulling out, the less Sam bled, until the bleeding has stopped altogether

Finally catching his breath, he reached for Bobby, trying to pull himself upright. "Stupid ass, needs to watch where the hell he's going."

Bobby couldn't help but let out a chuckle, even though the situation was far from funny. "Always knew there was a clumsy kid in there, trying to get out."

"What the hell is he doing, Bobby? Why's he just sitting there?"

"Watch and learn, Sam. You don't always need a compass to tell you which way is north."

Dean wasn't sure how long he'd sat there, but he figured it had been long enough. Removing the other shoe, he placed it in the new location of the shadow, and sat back down to continue his wait. Waiting was never something he did well, but sometimes, it just couldn't be helped. Another eternity later, he knew which direction he had to go.

Picking up the first shoe and replacing it to his now sand covered feet, he started talking to himself, "Shadow starts, here, continues to here." Walking a few paces to his left, he retrieved the second shoe, returning it to it's rightful place as well. A few more paces left, he stood at the end of the shadow, "Rises in the east, sets in the west." Knowing exactly which direction was north, he headed off in that direction.

He had no idea what time it was, but by the time he'd reached water, it was almost pitch dark. The desert had given way to what seemed like dead, brown plains, but no river, yet. After walking for only god knew how many hours, he was hot, sweaty, dehydrated, and quite positive he couldn't move another step. When he finally reached it, the water was so inviting, he dropped down onto the bank, scooped up a handful, and just drank it. Then he prayed it wasn't poisoned. "Oh well, too late now," he'd said after swallowing the fourth or fifth mouthful. He wasn't sure, he'd lost count.

He laid on his back, staring up at the now black sky, trying to regain some strength in his exhausted body. He'd almost dozed off completely when he heard the screams penetrating the silence off in the distance. Hunter's instinct kicking in, he scanned the area for the sounds of distress, and located them quickly. In the water, there was a woman, who seemed to be drowning.

Without hesitation, Dean jumped into the relatively still waters, swimming the short distance and pulling her up to the surface. She had some kind of plant wrapped around her legs, seemingly alive and trying to pull her under with every rush of current. Bracing himself on something hard beneath the surface, he pulled her with all his might, snapping the hold it had on her, and pulling them both back to the edge.

He pushed her up onto dry land, dragging himself right behind. If he thought he was exhausted before, he was totally spent now. He just lay there breathing heavily, arms over his chest.

"I don't know how to thank you. Where did you come from, anyway? You're the first person I've seen all day. I was starting to believe I was the only one here."

"Slow down sister, one thing at a time. What are you doing here, anyway. Thought this was my own personal hell. Nobody said anything about babysitting."

"I don't know what I'm doing here. I woke up this morning in some tiny gray room, with this note in my hand. Says it's for a Dean Winchester. I don't know any Dean Winchester. I've been wandering around all day. Slipped and fell in the river when I was trying to get a drink from it. That's when you pulled me out."

"Well, you did one thing right, at least you found Dean Winchester."

"You're Dean Winchester?"

"In the flesh, and you are?"

"Lily. Guess this notes for you then."

Handing it over, Dean was a little suspicious that after being in the river, it was bone dry. Opening it and reading, he wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

I can be as strong as an ox or weak as a sparrow.

I pass before the sun, but make no shadow.

Your next passage held in my tower you must seek.

Before the passing of time makes you too weak.

Sam and Bobby watched in unified horror at the scene being played out in front of them yet again. Looking at that woman, the recognition hit them hard in the face, and they both knew Dean was in more trouble then he could imagine.

"She's not playing fair Bobby."

"Did you think she would?"