"Sammy, come on, wake up."
Dean gently shook Sam's shoulder; Castiel stood a few yards away, watching in statue-like stillness and silence. Dean turned to look at Cas. "You're absolutely certain that you can't do anything?" Cas frowned, slowly shaking his head. "I doubt that I will be much good against demon wounds of this kind. I have never seen a demon with claws like those you described." Dean exhaled in frustration and dropped his head into his hands."But I do know," Castiel continued, "that we need to leave here soon. Demons have no doubt been aroused by the usage of the reservoir, and its' last location of use is here. I am not sure how to heal Sam, but staying here will not help us." Dean nodded; Cas was right.
"Alright then," he answered, getting up off the floor, "I'm gonna need your help to get Sam out of here, though." Dean crossed back over to Sam, Cas following this time. While Dean stood close by, Cas knelt by Sam's side and pressed two fingers gently against his temple. Sam groaned and his eyes fluttered open, then closed tightly again as he winced in pain. Dean breathed a sigh of relief as he knelt down to help Sam up. Dean and Cas each draped one of Sam's arms around their shoulders, and slowly, they helped him limp out to the car. Cas sat in the Impala's passenger seat while Dean helped Sam get into the back. Then he jumped in on the driver's side and revved the engine. Soon they were hurtling back down the dark highway. Cas frowned, glancing over at Dean, who was hunched over the steering wheel, determination on his face. "Dean?" Cas asked quietly, "You are driving fifteen miles per hour above the legal speed limit. "So what?" Dean snapped, then stopped, surprised at himself for being so harsh. "I—I'm sorry, Cas," he apologized. "It's just… I'm worried about Sammy." Castiel nodded, but did not reply, and Dean drove on in silence for almost half an hour more, his speed slowly but steadily increasing all the while.
They finally pulled into the parking lot of a tiny motel around two A.M., and the first thing Dean said once they arrived was "Cas, I need you to check us into a room." "…Why, Dean?" Dean motioned to his jacket, which was marked with burn spots, grime, and blood. "I don't need the guy who runs the place thinking I'm a psycho murderer or anything, and I think you can do it." Cas looked nervous, but he nodded, and got out of the car. Dean watched him walk slowly away, then hopped out and went to the trunk. He grabbed a gun, extra salt, and medical supplies, and stuffed them into a duffel bag, which he slung over his shoulder to wait for Cas. A few minutes later, Castiel was heading back to the Impala. Dean waited for him to return to the car; when he was close enough, Dean threw him the duffel bag. "Here – get to the room, put this in there." Cas frowned. "Do you need help with Sam?" Dean shook his head. Cas stood there for a moment, then replied "We are room six." He turned, and walked back towards the motel.
Dean turned back to the Impala and opened the back door. Sam was lying across the backseat, sleeping. Dean shook his shoulder gently, and whispered "Sammy? You there?". Sam opened his eyes tiredly and heavily dragged himself up into a sitting position, but as he tried to stand, his injured leg buckled and he fell to his knees. "Sam!" Dean exclaimed, immediately wrapping an arm around Sam's waist and helping him up. "Well… I feel great," Sam croaked with a weak smile. "Come on," Dean huffed irritably, and the two Winchesters started across the parking lot.
They made relatively quick progress, Dean helping Sam limp towards the faded number six painted onto their motel room door. The night was unusually quiet around them, the air windless and still. For the first time since they had first gotten out of the Impala at the manor, the tension and fear seemed to begin to fade; it was over. Safety lay just ahead, behind the peeling paint of the motel door.
Halfway there, something went wrong. Sam suddenly began to lean more heavily on Dean, his steps slowing; looking over, Dean could see that Sam was wincing, gritting his teeth tightly to keep from crying out in pain. "Sam, promise me you ain't gonna pass out," Dean said, his tone joking, but his eyes concerned. "No – I-I'm fine—" Sam managed to gasp out, his breathing becoming more shallow. No, no. We're so close. Not now. "CAS!" Dean half-shouted, "OPEN THE DOOR, NOW!" Sam was suddenly losing strength rapidly, and soon they stopped moving altogether. When Cas opened the motel room door, he was met with the sight of Dean, standing helplessly fifteen feet from the door, trying to support a barely-conscious Sam. Castiel hurried out to Dean, and together they half-carried, half-dragged him inside and laid him on the bed nearest to the door. Dean staggered over to the couch on the other side of the room, dropping his head into his hands. From behind him, by Sam's bed, Castiel's voice asked, "What happened out there?".
Dean took a moment to reply. "I don't know," he replied doubtfully, his voice catching slightly. "We were going across the parking lot and Sam just… just started slowing down, like something was sapping his strength." At these words, worry flickered in Cas's eyes – it didn't go unnoticed by Dean. "You think it was that demon?" he pressed, his tone bordering on urgent. Cas's eyes were downcast. "I am not sure, Dean. As I've already made clear, I do not know exactly what this demon is, or what it is capable of. But the possibility that the wounds the demon inflicted—" Dean held up a hand to silence him. "I was just asking for confirmation, Cas, not a full report." Castiel suddenly looked embarrassed. "I am sorry." Silence ensued for a few moments, broken finally by a frustrated sigh from Dean. His head back in his hands, he said, "Cas, I've been hard on you tonight, harder than I should've been. It's just that the past few hours… I'm just sorta strained right now." When a few seconds passed in silence without a reply, Dean lifted his head and turned to find himself facing empty space. Cas had left – he was alone. Closing his eyes, Dean lay down on the couch, hoping, in vain, for sleep that would not come.
The next chapter should be up soon; hopefully I'll find time in the next week to work on it. In the meantime, I'd love to see a review about how you're liking the story so far.