VII.
The Winchester brothers left the house through the back door. A soft but steady rain had set in. Dean scanned the surroundings but he couldn't see anything. The darkness of the night now seemed to have grown more intense, more threatening, more deep. Dean clenched his jaws and sighed. Sam didn't make a sound at all. He just stepped out and forward down towards the lake. Dean could feel the tension by just looking at his brother's backside but followed silently. He didn't question why Sam walked towards the lake, he trusted his brother's instincts but when Sam then turned left, Dean hesitated.
"Sam? Where are you going?" Of course, he got no answer. With another sigh he followed him. Then he saw what Sam was heading towards.
"'That the Stevenson's house?" Dean asked, a little out of breath. "You think they're in there?"
Sam turned around with a frown.
"No, I take it?" Dean said jokingly but dropped the grin right away. Sam blinked at him, almost as if he couldn't understand a single word his brother was saying, then he shrugged and turned around. The rain had increased in both frequency and intensity.
"Lucy?" he shouted instead. Dean strained his ears but he couldn't hear anything and looking at Sam, he knew that his brother hadn't heard anything as well. Then the look on Sam's face changed, his eyes grew wide and his mouth opened slightly. With a quick motion, he spun around and darted over into a patch of thick undergrowth. Dean jumped after him. It was only when he saw the shapes of the girls in the undergrowth that he noticed the little traces Sam had followed. There were patches of leaves crushed into the ground, grass torn from the earth, traces, tracks and marks of someone running, falling, scrambling back up onto their feet, trying to find a place to hide. Dean moved closer.
Lauren lay flat on her back, eyes closed, dark dirt covering her face, arms and bare feet and legs. When Sam got closer, he realized that it was blood, and not dirt. Lauren didn't move. And then he saw Lucy, sitting on her knees, bent over Lauren's lifeless body, immobile as well. Sam dropped to his knees as well, as if a sudden and invisible blow had knocked him down. He crawled towards Lucy, blinded by upcoming tears, his heart beating so fast and hard in his chest that he thought he was dying. Once he reached her, he grabbed for her arm but instead of her raising her head and looking at him, she fell into his arms unconsciously. In the darkness, Sam couldn't really see her face but he felt a constant drip of warm and thick liquid from her head. He had to draw in a sharp breath but tried to focus. He shook his head and lifted Lucy into his embrace to carry her into safety. Dean followed with Lauren in his arms.
Without saying a word, they walked over to the Impala and put the girls onto the backseat as careful as possible, then they got in as well. For a moment which seemed to last an eternity, they stared into nothingness. Then finally, Dean looked at his brother.
"Sam?"
Sam didn't answer. He kept staring ahead into the void of something that was totally his own.
"Sam!" This time Dean's voice had an edge to it that made Sam snap out of his daze. But the look he gave his older brother told Dean that Sam was crushed, hopeless and full of despair. Dean had to sigh, it was hard to see his brother like that. But they needed to talk about what to do next.
When he breathed in to speak up again, Sam turned to him. "What are we gonna do now, Dean?" With only the smallest gesture of his hand he included Lucy and Lauren on the backseat, his eyes reddened and his voice hoarse.
"I don't know…guess find a motel somewhere, as a first?"
Sam nodded slowly without looking at his brother, so Dean started the car and drove on into the blackness of the night.
They stopped at the first motel sign on the road just outside Richmond. The no vacancy sign lightened the parking area with pale and unreal blue light, flickering from time to time.
Dean had stopped only once at 24 hour pharmacy to get some bandages and aspirin for the girls. Sam had stayed with them in the car, his heart racing, his mind hurting, his eyes burning from the many silent tears he was crying when Dean wasn't looking.
The Richmond Green Motel was situated on a hill overlooking a golf court and since there was not much traffic on the main road at this hour of night, it seemed peaceful and quiet. Dean had returned with the key to their apartment, furnished only with two king-size beds and a TV-set on the wall on the other side of the room. The walls were painted grey which was also the colour of the floor covering.
"Pure luxury…" Dean muttered under his breath when he came in, carrying Lauren in his arms, but Sam ignored him. He held Lucy in a tight embrace and was reluctant to lay her down on one of the beds. When he pulled his arm out from underneath her head, he saw that the sleeve his light blue shirt was soaked with blood. Lucy must have been bleeding pretty badly. He shot a quick glance at his brother. He knew how precious Dean was about his car which now was probably soaked with blood as well. While he tried to make her as comfortable as possible, Dean went to the bathroom and got two bowls filled with water and all the towels he could find. He placed one bowl of water next to the bed Lucy lay on and handed Sam a couple of towels which Sam took with a thankful smile. When their eyes met, Dean saw the desperation that Sam felt so intensely. Both girls were in a pretty bad shape and Dean knew that Sam blamed himself for that.
Without saying anything, Sam soaked one towel and began to clean Lucy's face. The more dirt and blood he wiped away, the more bruises and cuts he discovered. It pained him to see Lucy like that but he knew that he had to take care of her now even though he had sworn himself to never get involved in anything like that or let anyone get that close to him after Jessica's death.
Carefully, he cleaned her arms as well. The water in the bowl was already deep red as was the towel he was using to wipe away the blood and dirt. From time to time, a deep sigh or a sob escaped his throat, but Dean pretended to not have heard it and Sam was grateful for that.
After he was done, he adjusted her head on the pillow, careful to not put too much pressure on the bruised spots. He felt the warmth of her skin against his hands as he held her head. Then he let her go and pulled the blanket up to her chin to keep her warm. For a moment he just watched her silently, mesmerizing every inch of her pale milky white skin, her dark brown hair which now curled against her skin and framed her face. He knew he shouldn't feel this way after he had denied himself so much, but he felt the choice he was about to make went against better judgment.
Suppressing a sigh, he bit his lower lip and moved over to Dean who had fallen asleep with the towel in his hands and Lauren's head on his shoulder.
"Dude!" Sam poked his brother's side, not very gently. "Dean, wake up!"
Dean jumped up and reached for his gun that he kept tucked in his jeans underneath his shirt, always close, never out of reach. Sam put one hand onto his arm to calm him down.
"What..? Who…?" Dean stammered and rubbed his eyes. "What the…why did you wake me? I just had the sweetest dream…"
"About what?" Sam shot a quick glance at Lauren who had also opened her reddened eyes, looking at the two brothers questioningly.
Dean followed his brother's gaze and shook his head hastily. He gave his brother an odd look. "Dude, no! What are you thinking?" he hissed while pushing Lauren back down into the pillows and underneath the blanket.
Sam didn't reply to that. While Dean was talking, he looked over to Lucy. She hadn't woken up during Dean's noisy reaction and Sam was grateful for that. It had taken quite a long time for her to finally find some rest.
Sam clenched his jaws again and sighed. "Dean, where is the file?"
Dean had already fallen against the cushions and was about to close his eyes again. Sleepily, he raised one hand and pointed to his jacket which he had flung carelessly onto a chair. He waved his hand a couple of times with his eyes closed, motioning Sam away from him. With another sigh, Sam stepped away from his brother and began to search for the file. He rummaged through Dean's clothes until he finally found what he was looking for, the file from the police station.