Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the reviews! They are like crack to my review addiction!! And thank you to everyone who is silently reading and has stuck with me this far! Special thanks to Strange Apparition, darwin12, cavetrollgrl, teal-lover, Elliesmeow, lekelly (both chapter 6&7), tennischik09, RedDragen, fairyofmusic, yasmine32068, pinkphoenix1985, and snchills for reviewing!!
Disclaimer: I wish I owned Sam and Dean, but I don't. Kripke, Warner Bros, etc are the rightful owners of all involved here. No profit is being made from this fic, it just helps me pass the time until Season 3 starts.
------------------------------------------------
"Damn it!" he said. He looked down at his left arm; there was blood streaming from a cut through his sleeve. He swayed on his knees and fell to his right, causing him to toss his sword away to catch himself with his right arm in time to prevent further injury, redirecting himself into a sitting position.
As Bobby kept watch for any approaching trouble, Ellen quickly dropped the wand for the flame thrower and knelt beside him, examining the wound. "Are you dizzy?"
Sam nodded.
"Well, it's just a bad scratch, really," she said, ripping off the sleeve of her shirt. "But since you're dizzy, I'm guessing those talons were poisonous." She retrieved the nozzle for the flame thrower and wetted the ripped cloth with the Holy Water. Patting the wound clean gently, the cut began to hiss and boil violently.
Sam stifled a scream at the pain, opting for a guttural growl instead, while squeezing his eyes tightly shut and clenching his jaw. He made a fist with his right hand and pounded the ground.
A moment later the searing of his flesh had subsided. Ellen took the cloth and tied it around his forearm as a bandage.
"Come on," she stood and offered a hand to help him to his feet. "We can't stay here."
Bobby looked Sam over and noted the sweat on his brow. "You gonna be okay?"
"Yeah," Sam nodded again, "I think so." He retrieved the sword from the place it had landed haphazardly on the ground and removed a hip flask from his pocket, taking a long swig.
"Whiskey?" Ellen asked, knowing Sam's recent drinking habits.
"Holy Water." He held the flask out for her to take, and she accepted.
Once she had returned the flask to Sam, they carefully continued down the corridor. Around the next bend the tunnel seemed to end abruptly, opening like the delta of a great river into the ocean.
Before them lay a vast expanse, broken only by yawning pits of fire, and the occasional boulder, which seemed to be scattered about without rhyme or reason, issued from some unseen source. Either this chamber's ceiling was incredibly high and unseen in the dim firelight, or there was no ceiling at all. Perhaps the tunnel was just a bridge between two completely separate planes. Or even dimensions? Sam thought.
"Oh, Hell." Bobby mumbled under his breath. "Sam, I don't think there's any way we're gonna make it across this without gettin' caught."
Sam did not respond, just started walking, jaw clenched and sword raised to the ready.
Bobby cursed silently as he laid two thick lines of salt all the way across the end of the tunnel, then and Ellen followed Sam at a close distance, both watching behind them for any attackers that may cut off their retreat.
A few moments later, they had walked far enough they could no longer see the tunnel. Their path had been reasonably straight, though they had detoured around several flame-spewing potholes. Ellen was certain she wouldn't be able to retrace their exact course, and she was becoming unnerved the mysterious absence of demons on their trek.
"Sam," Ellen started gently, knowing all too well how much of Sam's temper had been inherited from his father. "How are we going to find our way back?"
He stopped, looking back toward the tunnel, his face falling as the realization dawned of just how far they had already come. He laughed a sad, ironic laugh to himself. "Where are all the Peanut M&M's when you need them?" he said softly.
"What?"
"Nothin'," he sighed. "...Bobby, how much salt do you have left?"
Bobby held up the depleted bag. "Not near enough--"
"Help me!"
Sam held up a hand to silence Bobby, and then turned, looking from side to side, attempting to determine where the voice had come from. "Did you hear that?" He asked in a rushed whisper.
Bobby and Ellen nodded but said nothing, listening.
"Heeelllp!" came the voice again.
This time Sam had been able to see its source. In the distance, he saw two hands clinging to the edge of one of the pits of fire, and started running toward it.
Sliding to a stop on his knees right in front of the woman, he threw out a hand to her. "Grab hold of my hand!"
She reached for his hand, able to grip it only by the fingertips. He reached down with his other hand, grabbing her wrist and hoisting her to the solid ground forcefully, a strained grunt escaping his lips. "Are you okay?" he said, panting.
"Ha!" The woman, clad in a short, dirty white linen dress, laughed and climbed off of Sam. "I'm still in Hell, aren't I?"
Sam sat up and brushed himself off, smiling wryly. "Yeah."
"Thank you." She said, brushing herself off. "So what are you 'in' for?"
Getting to his feet, Sam looked at the woman and just shrugged and shook his head, not wanting to show all his cards. "You?"
She smirked. "I fell out of favor with the Big Guy upstairs, I guess." She stuck out her hand, "I'm Sedah."
He took her dainty hand in his own. "Sam. And this is Ellen, and Bobby." He indicated them respectively.
"Pardon me, Miss," Bobby spoke up, "But we're new. Could you tell us how to find our way around?"
Sedah looked at them appraisingly. "You're sure carrying a lot of 'worldly possessions' to have gotten here the old fashioned way...and usually, new or not, you are put in your place right away, no need to be told your way around. By this point you should be screaming and crying for your mommies." She backed away from them slowly. "Who are you?"
Ellen casually arranged her flame thrower to be directed at Sedah, but said nothing, looking to Sam.
"We're looking for my brother. Dean Winchester."
She shook her head, a frightened look on her face. "No, you can't be here...You're not supposed to be here. This isn't your realm. You should go now, they're gonna come for you." She started backing away more quickly.
"Wait! Please!" Sam called. "Just tell us how to find my brother!"
Then, without any warning, Bobby fired a blast of Holy Water from his flame thrower, hitting Sedah in the stomach and knocking her to the ground as she tried to turn away.
"Bobby! What are you doing?!" Sam ran forward to her aid.
"Sedah." Bobby said, jogging forward behind Sam. "S-E-D-A-H. That's Hades spelled backwards! She's not as innocent as she seems."
When Sam reached Sedah, he saw that the spot the water had struck was indeed steaming, and her eyes were pitch black. She stood, without Sam's assistance, rolled her head around as if getting a crick out of her neck, sighed, then fixed the trio with the most evil of stares.
On every side, creatures materialized out of black smoke.
"Very good, Mr. Singer," she said. "I was wondering how long it would take you to figure it out. You know, I've been watching you three since Sam first knocked on my door." She moved closer to Sam, but he pulled his sword out and leveled it at her.
"Aw," she pouted and came even closer. "What a pretty new toy you've got. But I've got news for you. You might be able to eradicate my minions, but Gabriel and that lot were all friends of mine, and their names carved on some cheap Excalibur knock-off isn't going to do me any harm. I have personally tasted the fruit of the Tree of Life." She licked her lips seductively. "Delicious."
He looked at her, lip curled in disgust, but remained silent. Bobby and Ellen kept their flame throwers at the ready, and eyed the throngs of evil beasts surrounding them.
"Face it, Sam. The world has to have balance. Haven't you ever heard the term 'necessary evil'? I'm yin to your yang. But I, unlike you, will be around for ever."
Sam lowered his sword. "So what now?"
"That's better. Now we can have a civil conversation." She put a hand on his shoulder and drug it along his back as she walked around behind him and returned to the front. She stopped in front of him and sighed. "I'll make you a deal. If you can get to Dean...you can have him. Mind, body, and soul, if you still want him -- and go on your merry way. That is, if you can get to Dean."
He stared at her, clenching and unclenching his jaw. An undeveloped thought rolling around in the back of his mind about what she had meant by 'if you still want him', then he cocked his head to one side. "And the catch?"
"Never, ever, darken my doorstep again." She said severely. "I. Don't. Care. Who gets into some stupid predicament and shipped off to my playground. Your 'Get Out of Hell Free' Monopoly card has just been spent. No more barging into my home just because you think you can get away with it...gives my mutts wrong ideas. Makes more work for me."
A puzzled look crossed his face and he licked his lips and swallowed. "Uh...okay...?"
"I know," she rolled her eyes. "You think you're getting off easy. I have my ulterior motives for not requiring more of you. The thing is, in the yin/yang way of life, sometimes your work comes in very handy. Demons are supposed to stay in Hell, after all." She made a sour face and continued grudgingly, "...And, though it pains me to admit it, you are good at your job."
"Alright. Deal." Sam said.
She smiled a cruel smile and began to fade into a mist. "Then you'd better get your sword back out... You've got a long way to go..."
As Satan disappeared completely, the hoard of demons surrounding them began to inch closer.
----------------------
Author's Note: There you have it. Longer chapter.
Sorry I haven't been able to respond to you guys personally, I've been busy catching back up, and my home computer has decided it doesn't want to let me log in anymore. Hope you are enjoying the story!
BTW - Cliffhangers are an important part of storytelling! They keep your readers wanting more more MORE!! evil grin
Will work for reviews :-)
PLEASE REVIEW!!! THANK YOU!!!