well hello everyone. i just want to say thank you all again for the wonderful reviews, i am so very glad you are all enjoying the story. like i said last chapter, there were only two left, and now, i guess, there is just one more chapter after this one. if i dont get it up before hand, i just want to wish everyone a safe and happy new years!!
ps: i know the alerts arent working, so hopfully everyone will find the story. lol. as always let me know what you think. and also, let me know if any of you are interested in hearing about the 'watcher' i have mentioned. i've already got one request. :)
D: alas, i dont own sam or dean. but, wouldnt that be nice.
SOMETHING LOST
Chapter 22
The shotgun blast echoed through the tunnel, Kerri's ears ringing while the rock salt rained down upon her, as the spirit screeched and vanished into the still thickening smoke. She laid there, still and silent, trying to fight off the darkness that was slowly begining to creep into the corners of her vision, the only sound drifting into her fogging senses was the crackle of the fire, and Dean's heavy breathing as he sunk to the cold, rocky ground.
He blinked back the shadows as he half dragged himself across the floor, shotgun in hand, his eyes firmly set on Kerri's soot covered, still form. His heart beat faster as he moved closer, vision blurring, fever growing with each passing moment. But he wasn't about to let that slow him down. He needed Kerri to be ok, needed to look into her eyes and see that she was still with him, still holding on, still fighting. He had to know that she was all right, that coming back into her life had not been a mistake.
He had wanted to see her again for so long, wanted to be apart of her life again, but he had always been afraid, always been wary of the trouble his family seemed to attract. But he had never forgotten her, not even for a moment. She was always there, her memory helping him through darker days, reminding him what exactly it was he was fighting for, showing him that there was still good in this world. He thought that by staying away he would keep her safe, but he was wrong. He had never expected to hear the story she had told him, never expected to stomp back into her life and find it in pieces. And the reality of that was almost unbearable. He was supposed to protect her, supposed to keep her safe, not pick up the pieces after she was broken.
"Kerri?" He breathed out as he neared her limp form, her face turned away, shadows dancing across her pale skin, but she was breathing, and that was music to the injured hunter's ears. "Kerri." He called again, shaking her shoulder. "Come on, wake up." He whispered, pulling himself to a sitting position, wiping her long bangs away from her closed eyes, smiling slightly when they began to flutter. "Hey, it's ok."
"Dean?"
"Yeah."
"You didn't stay put."
"Nope." Dean answered quietly, pulling her up to sit, alarmed at how scratchy and wispy her voice sounded.
"Thanks."
"No problem."
"Where is it?"
"Full of rock salt. It'll only slow her down for a bit, though. How're you?"
"Tired." She slurred, falling against Dean's shoulder, eyes rolling closed.
"Hey, hey, you gotta stay with me, ok?"
"Sure." She answered, opening her eyes, but not moving.
"Did it say anything to you?"
"Yeah, we had a nice little chat. Apparently, it doesn't like you too much."
"I've gathered that." Dean mumbled as he checked Kerri's eyes, relieved when they both seemed to focus on the light in his hand. The truth of the matter was, that no matter what he had said before, he really didn't want to have to go back down into those caves. He could remember only bits and pieces of his missing week, but those little tidbits were enough to last him a lifetime. This spirit knew all his shortcomings, had pointed out all of his faults as it attacked, each thrash, each burn, each cut was accompanied by a memory, a testament of his failure. Losing his mother, almost losing his father, Sammy's terrified eyes as he was drug below the earth, and Kerri's cold and lifeless form after she had been attacked by the watcher.
Every mistake he had made was brought back to him tenfold by the woman, her anger burning so bright that it had left him afraid, terrified, and nearly shattered. And then it had started to attack his dreams, burn him and cut him all the while showing him the cost of his life of mistakes. If it wanted him to suffer, then it had gotten its wish.
"My radio's broken." Kerri nearly whispered as Dean wrapped his arm protectively around her shoulders while she tried to blink her vision back into focus, the small tunnel filling with smoke at an alarming rate.
"It wasn't your radio. Come on, we gotta get out of here." The two began to crawl through the dark shaft, the air above them too thick to breath, soot sinking down like black rain.
"Dean? Kerri?" Sam's voice crackled through the radios as they neared the mouth of the tunnel, the heat from the fire growing more intense by the minute. Dean vaguely wondered how long it would be until someone found them, that, if this was to be their last hunt, how long it would take someone to notice. And hell, how much longer it would take for them to search the caves. It was kind of sad, really, they had all done so much, helped so many people in their anonymous quest against the dark, and now they would just disappear off the earth, a no one would be the wiser.
"Sam." Kerri coughed as she continued to crawl, a strange echoing crackle sounding through the darkness. "Where the hell are you?" She could feel her eyes falling closed, the smoke filling her lungs as she fought for oxygen, her tired body struggling to stay awake, her mind melting into darkness.
"From the sound of it, pretty close to you."
"Oh, shit." Dean suddenly exclaimed, falling back against the wall, his eyes closed, knees drawn to his chest, radio in his hands.
"Dean? What?"
"Turn back, Sammy. Get out of the cave."
"What? Why?"
"Because, the tunnel we're in is caved in at the back."
"So?"
"So, the front is on fire." Dean sighed, opening his eyes and staring at the ceiling, his face lax and sorrowful. Kerri, on the other hand, slowly climbed over Dean, peering around the corner, her eyes fixed on the flames dancing a mere two hundred feet away. Dean was right, they were trapped.
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Sam was growing frantic, his radio issuing nothing but static as he called for Dean and Kerri, his heart beating faster and faster as the heat of the fire grew. He stopped in his tracks when he heard it, the echoing blast of the gun sounded more like thunder in the oppressive heat and silence of the mines. And that momentary din was all he needed to push on, to make his long legs move even faster. They were alive, and they were fighting, and that was all he needed to know.
He called into the radio one more time, and he was rewarded, finally, with a weak and strangled answer. "Sam? Where the hell are you?"
He could hear her not only in the radio, but also in the caves, and he felt his sagging hopes rise, "From the sound of it, pretty close to you." Sam could feel his body relaxing, his tense shoulders loosening, that was until he heard his brother's defeated voice. "The tunnel we're in is caved in at the back... The front is on fire."
Sam could literally feel his heart stop, his body doubling over as he rounded a corner, tall hungry flames blocking the path to his brother. He was too late. He slid back against the wall, fighting back the tears that were swelling in his burning eyes, fighting back the sorrow that was taking over his very tired body. He couldn't lose another person to fire, he wouldn't. His entire life was ruled by those sickly yellow and red flames, by that heat, that heavy air, that dark smoke. But no more, he had lost too many people to it, and he wasn't going to lose Dean as well.
With a determination he didn't think he could muster he pushed himself to his feet, sweeping the flashlight back and forth across the tunnel, searching for any way to the other side, any break, any advantage he could use. The fissure was so small that he missed it on the first sweep, the shadows cast by the fire masking the narrow opening. The younger hunter quickly ran to the entrance, scanning the area, releasing a breath he didn't even know he was holding when he made it to the other side, a cooler clear shaft waiting for him, several openings cut along the wall.
"Dean? Kerri?"
"Sammy." Sam was alarmed at how weak his brother's voice sounded. "Go away. Get out."
"Not a chace. I'm in the next tunnel over, there's a couple of openings from the one you're in to this one. Try to see if you can find one."
"Sammy."
"Now, Dean."
Sam stood stock still for several long moments, holding his breath, straining his eyes and ears. This was there last chance, their only chance. He felt himself relax when he heard the scraping of the rocks, and the light cursing of his brother, Dean's body falling limply through a second small fissure, pulling Kerri through behind him. He rushed to their sides, helping his brother lean against the wall, his blonde hair black with soot and sweat, Kerri resting by his side.
"Hey, are you two ok?"
"Oh, I'm great. You know, golden brown, not too crispy." Dean sighed as he tried to blink away smoke induced tears.
"Well." Sam smiled, patting his brother's shoulder before moving to check on Kerri, who was disturbingly quiet. "Nice to know it didn't dampen your sarcasm."
"Nope, never. Hey, Sammy." Dean rolled his head so he was looking straight at his brother. "It's good to see you again."
Those few words said it all for the younger hunter, Sam smiling despite himself. It had been close, too close. He gave his brother another long look before turning back to the girl beside him, her still body startlingly cold despite the fire. "Kerri? You with me?" Still nothing. "Kerri!" Sam called a little louder, shaking her small shoulder gently.
"Kerri?" Dean breathed out, as he turned to her, worried eyes surveying her lax form.
"Uumm?"
"Kerri, come on. You gotta wake up." Sam spoke lightly as he took her face in his hands, relieved to be met by half open blue eyes. "You ok?"
"Not really." She stated weakly, her eyes drifting closed once more.
"Hey." Dean swung his arm against her. "Stay awake."
"Uh. Where are we?" Kerri finally blinked and looked around, the fire not nearly as close as she had remembered it.
"We're in the next tunnel over." Sam stated grabbing her under the arms. "You think you can walk, we gotta get out of here."
"We gotta burn the bones." She protested, swaying momentarily before sinking back to the ground, her head spinning.
"That's not really an option anymore." Sam spoke evenly as he checked and reloaded their guns. "Look, just sit there and catch your breath. Keep lookout." He added when he saw her eyes drift closed again.
Kerri leaned back against the wall, flashlight scanning the dark cavern, lungs burning, body aching. The clear air was helping, but she was still far from ok. She had no idea how long she had been talking to the spirit, how long she had been sitting there, entranced, as the fire grew around her, the smoke snaking its way into her body.
She only half listened to Sam and Dean as they planned their escape, pouring over the maps, trying to trace a path through the fire. She kept staring down the deep, cold tunnel, eyes fixed on something at the end of the light, shinning slightly, oddly. She couldn't tell if it was rock or something else, her vision blurring as she tried to stare, mind moving slower then she ever thought it could. But there was something there, she was sure of it.
She pushed herself to her hands and knees, crawling along the dirt, the light held out before her, cutting through the heavy darkness. It couldn't be that easy, they couldn't just stumble across it when they were ready to run, things just didn't happen that way. But she was sure of what she saw, so determined to prove to herself that she wasn't crazy that she crawled off into the darkness, leaving Sam, Dean, and the supplies behind her.
"Ker--." Sam began, turning from his brother, ready to get them all out. But he was met by nothing more then darkness, and the dim flashlight a hundred feet away.
"We all have to start wearing bells." Dean chided as he began to push himself to his feet.
"No, wait here, I'll go get her."
"Sam."
"She's not that far, Dean, I'll be fine." Sam gave his brother an encouraging smile before turning off into the darkness.
He made it to Kerri in no time, startled when he found her kneeling, almost mesmerized over a set of half covered bones. But he wasn't amazed by the find at all, in fact, he could feel the hairs on the back on his neck stand on end, they had been trapped again. But, he knew, the ghost must have been getting desperate to use her own bones to lure them away.
"Come on." Sam's loud voice made Kerri jump, pulling her out of her trance. "Let's burn them and go."
"Something's not right." Kerri spoke softly, finally able to stand, as she sprinkled the salt down over the bones, Sam ready with the lighter fluid and matches.
"It all seems so easy, doesn't it." They both looked up at the sound of the icy voice, the spirit woman standing there before them, a cold smile on her face, fire held in her outstretched hands.
Sam had barely a second to react, the woman before them throwing the fire with such force, such speed that he could feel it scorch his back as he covered Kerri and rolled, the two coming to a rest behind an outcropping of rock just a few feet from the bones. Sam continued to hold Kerri tightly in his arms, afraid that, if he let her go, she would be one more person in his life consumed by fire. He could hear the ghost laughing, feel Kerri breathing hard, her face pressed to his chest, his shotgun and supplies still by the bones, right in sight of the fire throwing spirit.
He nearly jumped when he heard the clicking echo through his radio, the rhythm precise and clear. Morse code. ". . . . , .--, -- --" Sam. "--. . , . , --.--. , -- -- --, -- . -- --" Decoy. " . . .-- --" Sam took in a deep, steadying breath, releasing his hold on Kerri, she too understanding what Dean was about to do, she too preparing herself for their last ditch effort, their last chance.
" . -- -- -- --". One.
" . . -- -- --". Two.
" . . . -- --". Three! Sam and Kerri both ran out into the open tunnel, Dean's voice ringing in their ears.
"Yo, bitch!" He stood strong and tall, all previous signs of injury gone as he fired, the shotgun blast missing the spirit by inches as it dissipated, Sam scooping up the lighter fluid while Kerri grabbed another shotgun.
"Where'd it go?" Dean asked, scanning the area, when a wind suddenly exploded out of nowhere, throwing all three back into the wall, Sam and Kerri on one side of the bones, Dean on the other. Seconds after they were thrown the spirit appeared again, her smile gone, eyes frighteningly dark, fire growing all around her, a wall building between the brothers.
"Hey!" Sam yelled, drawing the woman's wrath from his brother. "I'm not so easy to kill now am I?'
"You all must be punished."
"Then punish me you witch."
"I WAS NEVER A WITCH!" Her voice boomed in the space, filling the air with a deafening gale, her dark eyes now glowing like red hot fire, anger aimed at Sam, the young hunter not even flinching as the woman's hands began to glow once more, fire growing, hot wind blowing back Sam's hair, bright flames illuminating his dangerous eyes.
With one final scream the spirit let her arsenal fly, the fire shooting at the younger Winchester as quick as lightning, the hunter dropping to his knees, throwing the can of lighter fluid towards the flames, the two meeting over the bones, exploding in a rain of fire, catching the spirit's remains like dry kindling, laying her angered soul to rest, the fires around them dying with her screams.