AUTHOR'S NOTE: Finally, another upload. Sorry for the wait. Note also, that the segments in italics are NOT flashbacks. ; )
DISCLAIMER: As much as I want to, I don't. So there.
NEARLY LOST YOU
By Tari Palantir
The Winchester brothers sat on the worn-out couch parked in front of the television. Dean had chosen to watch a random horror movie, and was now laughing hard at film's "special effects".
"Man, that one just looked like my History teacher!"
Sam rolled his eyes at his brother. "That's was not nice, Dean."
"What?" his brother replied in mock innocence.
"Teachers are nice."
"No, they're not," countered Dean. "Not if they bore me to death."
"Are too!" Sam replied, annoyed. "They tell lotsa stories and they fix your toys and they give lotsa hugs!"
His older brother scoffed. "You're in pre-school Sammy," he said. "Of course, they're nice. All the mean ones are in my school."
"It's Sam," he said in a huff.
Dean sighed, flicking off the show. "Fine. It's time for bed anyway."
Sam pouted in response, earning a disapproving look from Dean.
"Nuh uh, those puppy-eyes of yours won't work this time."
Knowing how adamant his brother can be, Sam reluctantly stood up from the couch and headed for their room. "Is Daddy coming home tonight?" he asked.
"Nah. He'll be back tomorrow or something."
"Will you read me a story, Dean?" he begged, pulling his brother towards their bed. "I like the one with the dragons an' the fighting an' stuff."
"Sure," Dean replied.
"Yeah!" Sam cheered, skipping towards the lumpy mattress. You're the bestest brother Dean!"
"I know."
"Good," the demon said, yellow eyes glowing ominously. "Now we can talk."
John stared angrily at the evil entity keeping Sam hostage. "Give me my son back!"
"Ssh… there is no need to shout, John," replied the demon in a calm voice, infuriating the hunter even further. "You'll wake Samuel up."
The demon then bent his head down, smelling his child's brown locks.
"It hurts to do this, right?" the demon asked. "It pains you so much, how much he smells like Mary…"
The demon continued, pinning the hunter with its golden gaze. "It hurts so much that you avoid hugging your boy as much as possible."
John stiffened, feeling the remark hit too close to home. "You have no right to say her name." Inside, he reeled at how true the statement was, realizing how much he tended to veer away from showing affection to Sam. I pushed him away everytime he tried to come to me. I couldn't stand it because he reminds me of everything I've lost.
"Why not?" the demon countered. "She really was the victim here, when you think about it. She got in the way, so she had to go."
"You bastard!" John snarled, advancing towards the creature. But he stopped immediately as the demon grabbed Sam's neck in a tight grip.
"Move and I'll wring Sammy's pretty little neck."
"What the hell do you want?!"
"Don't worry, I won't take your precious boy…at least, not yet," the demon smirked. "I was merely…updating," he chuckled, as if relishing a private joke.
John frowned at the demon's words. What the hell? Updating?
Grimly, he thought of the situation. He knew he had to get Sam as soon as possible. He couldn't exactly shoot the bastard, unless he wanted to let his bullets go through his son. Only one option then…
He clenched his fists before starting to recite the verses of an exorcism rite ingrained in his memory ever since his wife was torched in the ceiling. The Latin verses flowed from his lips as he returned the demon's malevolent stare.
He brows furrowed slightly when the demon only sneered at his attempts at exorcism. Still he continued, waiting for the slightest change in the entity's demeanor.
"That tickles," the demon laughed, before snarling, "but that wasn't very funny!"
The demon then placed his hand on Sam's forehead, who immediately began to writhe in his arms, as if in pain.
John stopped reciting the verses upon hearing his son's pained moans. "Get your hands off him!" he moved to grab his youngest from the demon's grasp, but a strong invisible force threw him back, pinning him against one of the classroom walls.
He frantically struggled against the invisible bonds, panicking slightly at the sight of blood trickling from Sam's nostrils.
"Now, now, you've been a very bad man," the demon said. "Now you're stuck."
"Do you like tests, John?" the demon said yet again. "I think Samuel does. He's a very special boy, from what I hear." The yellow eyes flickered for a moment to glance at the teacher lying on the cold floor.
"You see, I gave little Samuel a little test of my own."
"You bastard!" John hissed. "You said you wouldn't take him!
"Oops," the demon grinned, baring teeth. "I lied."
"Dean!" Sam shouted in alarm.
His older brother turned to look, and his eyes narrowed at the sight.
"What happened?!" he frantically asked.
"I don't know," was all Sam could say, staring at his bloodied hand disbelievingly. He blinked as a few more drops of red fluid fell from his nostrils.
What's going on? he thought worriedly.
Dean!
Dean stopped in his tracks at the unexpected sound, just barely avoiding the bumper of an incoming car. The car swerved just in time, earning him a pissed off cuss from the speeding car's driver.
"Sammy?" he asked as he looked around the street, hoping to see his brother. The distress on his baby brother's voice was more than he could bear.
His hopes sank a little upon not seeing any sign of Sam. Where are you, Sammy? What's going on?
Instinctively, he fingered the pendant on the necklace he always wore, fighting the urge to panic. He had to find his brother. He didn't know how, but he knew that something was very, very wrong.
Dean continued to run towards Sam's school, wondering all the way why he felt as if someone was going to take his little brother away from him.
There you have it. I vow to finish this no matter what! Thank you for taking the time to read and review. You give me strength.
