Chapter Three

Dean dove in after them, kicking furiously, the flashlight on his forehead piercing through the darkness. He flinched as he swam into a jungle of seagrass that swept across him like silky hands exploring his flesh. The bottom of the cavern was shallow, only a few yards down. The light passed over the silty floor, picking up gleaming bone layered with greenish vetch. A small yellow fish darted inside the eye cavity of a skull. The cavern floor was littered with dozens of bones. Human. This cave was obviously the Nereids favorite picnic area. Dean tucked the horror of that deep down inside his chest. His brother was not going to be the beasties' latest bucket of chicken wings.

He moved his head back and forth, letting the light sweep outward. Dammit, this cave wasn't that big. His heart clenched, fearing the Nereid could have left the cavern and gone into the bay or worse, the open ocean. He'd never see Sammy again. Panic pushed tightly inside his chest, squeezing against what was left of his oxygen, then . . .

Sam. Thank God. He found him. Not one, but two of the Nereid's had Sam pinned against the floor. His arms and legs floated upward, swaying in rhythm to the surrounding vegetation, moving with the subtle waves produced by the sea monkey's fanning tails.

Pulling the knife from his ankle, Dean surged forward, stabbed the closest tail and sliced downward. Inky blood poured around them as the tail lashed out, spinning Dean away. Quickly recovering, because he didn't have enough breath left to play around with, Dean tucked beneath the other one, pushing Sam out as he swung the blade upward into the bitch's stomach.

He wasn't even sure how bad he hurt her because he kept going, pulling Sam up with him. The kid's arms fluttered limply, head hanging, which frightened Dean into kicking for all that he was worth. They exploded to the surface in a cascade of drops. Chest heaving painfully, Dean drew in much needed oxygen to his labored lungs. Sam floated limply, staying above the waterline only because Dean had a hold of him. He hadn't drawn in as much as a breath.

"Come on, Sam." Dean slapped his face. "Come on, dammit!"

Dean swam them over to the ledge, his legs tangling with Sam's. He had no idea where the Nereid's were, how bad he had wounded them, or how he was going to get his listless gigantor brother out of the water and get him breathing again. Trying to pull Sam out had left him far too vulnerable last time.

At the ledge, Dean set the knife down in easy reaching distance and manhandled Sam out as high as he could get him. Crap, he was heavy and Dean was exhausted. Didn't matter. Nereids could be circling beneath them right now. Pulling off the flippers, he tossed them onto the rock so he could climb out easier. He lifted one of Sam's legs up on the rock and holding him there with his own body, Dean hoisted himself up and then scrambled over the top of Sam and pulled, lifting with everything he had and then rolled his brother up onto the ledge.

Falling back onto his butt, Dean sat there for a moment, heaving for a mere second before scrambling back across Sam and pulling his other leg out of the water.

They still weren't far enough from the edge for Dean's liking, but Sam wasn't breathing. His younger brother wasn't breathing.

Placing his fingers at Sam's neck, Dean searched for a pulse, closing his eyes in relief when he found one.

"Okay, that's good. That's good." Dean leaned down, placing his ear to Sam's mouth, listening for the slightest breath while looking across the chest for any rise and fall.

Sam still hadn't moved. Dean's throat tightened. How long had it been since Sam was dragged under? It seemed like hours, but was probably only a few minutes. It couldn't be too late. It just couldn't.

Shaking, Dean cleared Sam's mouth, tipped it open, plugged the kid's nose, and sealed his own lips over Sam's. With a hand splayed over Sam's chest, Dean felt it finally expand as he pushed his own breath into his brother. He felt it fall and blew again, pouring his fear and urgency for the kid to breathe with the steady trickle of air. Come on. Again.

Dean lifted his head, watched for Sam to take a breath on his own. Nothing. He scanned the water for the Nereids before leaning in and breathing for Sam again.

He lost count of how many times he pushed his own air into Sam's chest, how many times he checked to see if Sam breathed for himself. He'd keep at it as long as it took. Nothing else mattered. Dean's world whittled down to a narrow focus of feeling Sam's chest expand with the air he forced into him . . . of the taste of ocean salt on his brother's lips . . . of making certain there was still a pulse . . . of his own tears warming the chilled mouth . . . of turning his head between counts, willing Sam's chest to rise.

"Don't do this to me," Dean sobbed. "S-Sam." Not giving up on you, man.

Dean blew again, his heart sinking.

He lifted, inhaled, and lowered his mouth back to Sam's . . . and felt Sam's lips move.

Dean froze, unsure, until he felt it again. He reared back, stared at Sam's chest, watched it tighten until Sam spasmed on a gasp. Quickly Dean turned him to his side just before Sam spewed out a gush of water. The retching was horrible and loud and raw-sounding and Dean couldn't stop the tremors running through his own body anymore than he could stop Sam's shaking.

He had almost lost him. That had been too close. He hovered, palm on Sam's back while the kid braced his elbows on the stone, intermittently puking and resting while his stomach muscles clenched up just to spew some more. Dean winched with each bout until finally it appeared Sam didn't have any more to give. He sagged back, instinctively knowing Dean would catch him.

He looked up at Dean, gray-faced and exhausted.

Dean rested his palm at the side of Sam's face. "Don't ever do that again." His voice was deeper than usual. "You hear me?"

"Kay." Sam's eyes looked darker, shinier, in the indirect light of the headlamp. "What'd I do?"

You almost died. "Became the plaything of several mermaids."

Lines appeared on Sam's forehead as his gaze roamed over the water before coming back to Dean. "You don't look so good."

Dean snorted. "I'm as peachy as cobbler."

Sam looked around, seeing no exit. "How'd we get in here?" He pulled himself up higher. His breathing increased. "How we gonna get out?"

Dean looked toward where the tunnel should be, flashing the light over there, but the tide had come in and the few inches of the air pocket was fully submerged now. After Sam's close call, Dean wasn't going to risk Sammy swimming through that anyway, not when the space was so small that they'd have to go single file and definitely not until he'd taken out the last two Nereids.

"We're going to have to swim out in the morning when the tide's out. There's a tunnel. It's just fully under water now."

"C-can't we just swim through?"

Dean frowned. "It's pretty long. Plus if those bitches caught us between them . . ."

Sam's face creased. A low tremor ran through his lanky frame.

Dean put his hand on Sam's shoulder. "You okay?" He almost died. He wasn't okay.

Sam nodded. "Just cold. Don't suppose . . . you have waterproof . . . proof . . . matches on you?"

"Nope." Dean was cold too, although he wasn't shivering like his sibling. "Hang on. I'll get you warm. First, I want to get you farther away from the edge."

Gulping, Sam nodded empathically at that, making Dean laugh. Sam looked back at the water. "Can't we just go?"

Dean crouched back down in front of Sam. If his brother was whining like a child, he was more out of it than he'd at first believed. He cupped his arms beneath Sam's armpits and hoisted the sasquatch up, settling him on his feet.

"Okay?"

Sam nodded just before he sank back to his knees.

"Right."

"S-sorry."

"No problem. I'm used to hauling your ass around."

"Dean." The warning edge to Sam's tone had Dean looking to the water where a white skullish head emerged. The fin-like ears twitched, making small ripples.