Disclaimer: No one you recognize is mine.
.~o()o~.
When Sam came to, he was lying on the ceiling of the General. He hadn't been out for long. The dust was still settling on the road.
He tried to push himself up but every part of him screamed in protest. His left arm was swelling badly and when he reached up to scratch an itch by his eye, he pulled his hand away covered in blood.
"Bo!" he called as he tried to roll himself over enough to check on the other man. Bo lay very still. Blood covered his face from a deep cut on his forehead. Pieces of glass were wedged in his shoulders, turning the blue and yellow of his shirt into a mass of red, but far worse than that was his leg, trapped between the steering wheel and the dash with a very obvious extra bend between his knee and his ankle.
Sam again tried to push himself up, but his stomach revolted and he threw up on the glass covered interior of the car, the sour stench of vomit mingling with the sickly sweet smell of blood and the musty smell of gasoline.
"Gotta get out of here," Sam whispered. "She's gonna blow." But his strength was gone and he could do nothing more than lie there and hope his death would be quick.
Footsteps sounded softly by his head and a face peered through the window, mouth unsmiling and eyes black as coal. "Well met, Sam Winchester, and with Bo Duke as well. What a crazy random happenstance."
Sam growled through clenched teeth. "Go to hell."
"Been there, done that," the demon giggled mirthlessly before placing its hand on Sam's head.
Sam's body went rigid, then was gripped by violent seizures, but instead of losing consciousness, he remained completely aware as his body continued to shake. Blackness beckoned him but he could not succumb to its sweetness. There was a barrier that stood between.
His arm was in screaming agony as it jerked around involuntarily and he had bitten his tongue. Blood and foam filled his mouth, threatening to choke him. It poured out over his chin, mixing with the blood that already painted the inside of the General Lee.
He could feel his flesh parting as his back and shoulders were dragged repeatedly over the broken glass on the metal ceiling, some pieces working their way in so deeply he feared they would never be able to remove them.
His head slammed repeatedly against the metal, each crack sending lightning bolts of pain through his brain until he was crying, praying, begging and pleading for just one moment of oblivion.
He heard Bo crying out his name in a pained voice, saw the beginnings of a fireball and felt the blistering heat begin to wash over him and then he was in cool darkness, still and silent. The shackle that bound him to his consciousness was finally unlocked and Sam knew no more.
.~o()o~.
An hour and a half later, Dean cursed violently at the unresponsive CB. "Damn it, Sam, I told you to check back." They had already been to the houses of three of the victims and had discovered nothing new. As Dean pounded the seat beside him in frustration, the CB crackled to life.
"Breaker, breaker, I need an ambulance at Pine Creek Road. The duke boys done been in a terrible accident. Over."
"Where is that?" Dean yelled, ready to spring into action.
"I can get us there real fast if you let me drive." Luke said, outwardly calm, but the fear in his eyes betrayed him.
Dean didn't even think, but immediately got out of the driver's seat, letting Luke slide over, threw himself over the hood and climbed into the passenger seat. Luke barely gave him time to get in before he was roaring down the road toward the east side of town.
They leapt out when they reached the scene, pulling up next to the police car. Dean leaned against the hood of the Impala, struggling to keep from puking his guts out.
"Enos, d-did anyone get out?" Luke stuttered to the deputy who stood watching in horror.
"Luke! You're alive!" Enos cried, almost grabbing him by the shoulders, but settling for a hearty handshake.
"Enos, my cousin, did he get out?" Luke asked again, terrified of the answer.
"I don't know Luke, I can't get close enough to tell."
Luke crumpled to the road. He and Dean watched in horror as angry flames licked at the twisted, blackened metal that was the remains of the General Lee.
They stood there helplessly as screaming sirens took shape and became flashing lights and shiny emergency vehicles. The fire was soon out and the fire chief came over to talk to Enos.
"The good news is, there are no human remains in the vehicle."
"Oh thank God," Luke said in relief.
The chief noticed him. "Luke, you weren't in the vehicle? Was your cousin alone then?"
Luke shook his head. "He was with this man's brother. You said that was the good news. Is there bad news?"
"Well, its all very odd. There is no way they should have made it out. The evidence suggests they were hurt, and hurt bad. It doesn't look like they made it out under their own power. I called the Tri-County Hospital, but no one has come in all day. If someone rescued them, they didn't get them any medical attention. It looks like they were taken, but I don't know anyone around here who would have done such a thing."
"Sam's pretty strong, how do you know he didn't get himself out?" Dean finally managed to speak.
"Come," the man beckoned. He brought them to the windows and Dean saw what he had been too distracted to notice earlier. "These are drag marks," the man continued. Dean's stomach clenched as he saw the large splotches of drying blood mixed with the dust and traces of a yellow mineral on the ground. Dean didn't have to smell it to know it would be sulphur.
"On the driver's side, we found bone fragments," the fire chief showed them, picking up what looked like three thick white toothpicks, stained with red. "We had better find them soon. I don't think we will have long."
Dean was off, following the drag marks into the grove of trees by the side of the road until they magically disappeared without a trace. He yelled in frustration and pounded his fist against the nearest tree until his knuckles were bloody and torn. Then he did throw up, leaving his dinner dripping down the side of the tree as he continued to heave long after his stomach was empty. He gradually became aware that Luke was standing beside him, not touching him or speaking, just waiting.
Dean straightened up and looked Luke in the eye, the same grim expression on their faces and the same light of battle in their eyes.
"That son of a bitch took my brother and I will not rest until I send his ass back to hell."
.~o()o~.
Another chapter down! Let me know what you think!