Paper Bandages
Chapter 5: Freezer
Dean wished he wasn't used to waking up in chains. And not in a kinky way, either. More like a something's-trying-to-kill-him-and-Sammy kinda way.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a cramped sort of cage. It was hard to tell where, because it was so dark, but he guessed he was in an underground prison somewhere, based on the pungent scent of damp earth, vomit, and piss. Half the cage disappeared in an inky darkness, while Dean's half was bathed in a half light from a dirty old lantern hanging far out of reach of the cage.
Sam was nowhere to be seen.
Awesome. Just awesome.
Dean groaned around his gag. At the noise, something shifted at the other end of the cage. Two unnaturally bright gold eyes were staring at him in undisguised fear.
Dean mentally cursed his luck. He was stuck in a cage with some obviously terrified creature. This whole apocalypse just kept getting better and better.
Then, as if to prove his point further, the owner of the eyes inched closer to Dean. The thing wasn't even tied up! Dean tensed and tried to curl up defensively. He had no way to stop the monster from tearing him apart if it so desired.
But to his surprise, it was a human voice that shakily gasped out, "W- what are you? They said- they said they only put dangerous things down here. I swear we're- I'm not- please don't try to- try to-"
In just a short sentence, the thing was already wheezing, nearly hyperventilating in- fear of Dean? If it was acting, it was doing a pretty good job at it. He grunted at it, frustrated at his inability to communicate. Could it seriously not tell he was human? Or did it know he was a hunter?
At his grunt, the creature stopped its panicked babbling and cautiously reached a clawed hand forward to quickly slice at the gag and the chains, before instantly retracting the appendage.
And then it whimpered. It whimpered like a puppy.
And the eyes- they looked so scared. They looked- young. Hurt. Innocent.
They looked like Sam's had, once upon a time.
Dammit, Dean.
Cursing his weakness, Dean slowly held up his newly-freed arms placatingly. For God's sake, he was trying to convey nonthreatening vibes to a freakin' monster. But Sam's chastising voice floated through his head, disapproving bitch face firmly set in place, and he focused on calming the thing down.
"Hey," he tried in a low voice, "I'm not gonna hurt you. We're obviously in the same situation. So why don't you calm down and tell me who 'they' are and what they want. I'm a human. Name's Dean. What are you?"
The harsh breaths stuttered and the creature shifted into the light.
It was just a kid.
Well, no, it just looked like a kid, probably not even twenty yet, but the tear tracks and bloodstained rags definitely made it look younger.
It's hair, probably once a light brown, was matted to its head with blood and grime. Take away the glowing gold eyes, claws, and fangs, and it could probably pass as human.
"M' a were- werewolf," it- no, he, stuttered in a halting voice, "Isaac. Also, I- I'm not good with cages. Small ones. Like this one. S' too dark. And small. And I- I can't get out. And he's not- not gonna come back- no one is- I can't- he's gonna- gonna-"
"Hey!" Dean broke in when the kid started losing it again, "Isaac! Isaac, focus. You're gonna be alright. I'm sure my brother's on his way as we speak. We'll get you out. But I need to know that you're in control. You aren't gonna start clawing me up. So… just think. Who's got us? Do you know what they want?"
Isaac took a deep, shuddering breath, but seemed to calm slightly. "I- demons, I think. Black eyes. Um, how- you said you were human? I don't know why- why they'd take you. But, um, Sc- my alpha, he's- well, special? I guess. So I'm bait. They gave me something- I'm stuck like this. In beta form. But the bars- they're wolfsbane. I'm not- I can't shift fully. No real power. Can't lose control. But I can- I can hear the other prisoners. Below us and- and above us. Screaming." He took a deep breath, panic having faded a decent amount in his speech.
Dean hesitated. He didn't want to tell the kid he was a hunter; it would likely scare him even more. But if it was demons that had him, why take him and not Sam? It didn't make sense.
He ran a hand over his face. Alright. He could do this. He turned to face Isaac, who was looking at him so hopefully, like Dean could save the world and make everything okay again.
Like Sammy used to look at him.
So he hid his doubts, flashed the kid a confident smirk, and cracked his knuckles.
"First thing's first. Let's get outta this cage, huh? Wipe your face, kid. We got work to do."