Author's Note: And a third update this week. I'm working hard to get this up so that the final chapter will be posted on Halloween. Anyway, thanks to TheBigChillQueen, Eliza Ghost, PsychoPicasso, GoForTehGig, healingwater, Meggin Lane, Supernaturalfreak, new21writer, Colby's girl, NewbieOnTheBlock, guest, and DWMutt for their awesome reviews. And new21writer and Hasmik Aharonyan for their kind words and support in PMs. You guys are all great.

Chapter Nine: And Then There Was One

Dean fought to remain asleep as the pain began to invade his blissful state of unconsciousness. He could tell that he was in a bed and thus was safe, so why the hell would he want to wake up and be at the full mercy of his injuries. But apparently he wasn't going to get a choice. His body was urgently informing him that his bladder was full and his stomach empty. With a groan, Dean opened his eyes and saw nothing. The room was pitch black. Which, of course, meant that it was night. He'd somehow slept the entire day away. The slightly hazy feeling in his brain let him know that the reason he'd been asleep so long was because Sam must've drugged him. He'd need to thank his brother for giving him the good stuff. In any event, he still needed to get up and pee.

With a complete lack of grace, Dean stumbled to his feet and shuffled to the back of the room where the bathroom was located. He felt a little weak but not as bad as he had suspected that he would. After fumbling around to locate the doorknob, the hunter opened the door and flipped on the lights. Squinting, Dean entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him as quietly as he could. Sam was probably tired after spending the day patching him up and most likely doing more research, so Dean didn't want to wake him up.

After relieving himself, Dean washed his hands in the sink and took a good look at himself in the vanity mirror. He was remarkably pale and there were dark circles under his eyes. He turned his head and saw a line of small, neat stitches just above his right ear. He'd already noticed his wrapped up arm and the bandages taped onto his side, since Sam had taken off his torn up t-shirt but had not given him a new one. Dean made a mental note to tease his brother about trying to freeze him to death by leaving him half naked.

At that moment his stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't had anything to eat since that bag of slightly stale peanut M&Ms at the hospital a day and a half ago. The creature had attacked him and screwed up his plans of getting a breakfast burrito on his way back to the motel. Yet another reason that thing had to die. Dean hoped that Sam had gone to the diner and picked something up for him for when he woke up. He'd check the refrigerator and see what he could find.

When Dean opened the door, all thoughts of food disappeared. The light that spilled from the bathroom illuminated his brother's bed. It was empty and still made up. Sam had never slept in it. But there was no way that his younger brother would've left him all alone in his current condition without a damned good reason. Dean swung the door completely open to try and look around the entire room. The glow from the open bathroom made it possible for him to see the outline of a body lying on the floor near the table. It was Sam.

Dean rushed across the room and turned on the light so he could get a good look at his brother. The first thing he noticed was the blood. But a closer look revealed that the blood was in a trail from the front door to the bed that Dean had woken up on. It was his and not Sam's blood. Dean dropped to his knees in front of his brother and used his good right hand to gently roll the younger man over. There were no cuts or bleeding wounds on his body. For a moment, the hunter could almost fool himself into believing that Sam had merely fallen asleep on the floor but then he saw the taller man's forehead. There were fingertip shaped burn marks on his brother's temple.

"No. Sammy, Sammy c'mon. Wake up." He patted Sam's cheek, knowing all the while that his younger brother was not going to respond. But still he felt anger and fear surge within himself when there was no reaction. "Son of a bitch! I'm gonna find you, you soul stealing piece of crap, and I'm gonna carve you up for this!"

Dean got to his feet, ready to go out and kill the freaky bastard, but then he realized that he had no place to start. He didn't even know what the creature was, much less where to find it. He'd have to call Bobby. But first thing first. Dean had to try and make his little brother more comfortable.

Dean tried to pick up his taller brother but his left arm screamed in protest. Even if he somehow managed to lift up the heavier man, he would certainly pull all the stitches that he was sure Sam had put in his arm. Abandoning that idea, the hunter walked to the bed to retrieve a pillow and some blankets. When he got there, something on the nightstand caught his attention. It was the tubing and needles that they used to perform blood transfusions. That was why he felt a bit stronger now. But it would've weakened Sam and made it impossible for him to fight back when the creature attacked. Which meant that his brother had been hurt because of Dean. If he hadn't gotten his ass kicked, then Sam wouldn't have had to give him blood and make himself vulnerable. Hell, if Dean hadn't been so pathetically weak then he would've been able to take out tall, dark and ugly and this nightmare would be over. But now Sam's life, his very soul, was at risk because Dean couldn't get his act together. Dean had sold his soul for Sam and now it seemed that it had all been for nothing. Hell no. Dean might have a one way ticket to a gruesome death followed by an all expenses paid trip to eternal torment, but Sammy was going to get a long life no matter what. If Dean could stop the creature before Sam's body died on Halloween, maybe there was a way to get his soul back as well. Bobby would know more about that than he did.

Dean pulled the pillow and blanket off and carried them over to his brother. He lifted the unconscious man's head up and slid the pillow under it. Then he draped the blanket over Sam. That was all he could do for now.

Then he saw the jack o'lantern sitting on the table, grinning at him with that ugly evil mouth. Dean picked it up and threw it across the room. It hit the wall and rolled back until it came to rest by Dean's feet. Angrily, the hunter kicked the pumpkin under the bed.

Trying to calm himself, Dean turned his attention back to the matter at hand. He went over to the nightstand to grab the pill bottles he'd seen there. He needed some painkillers. He'd just make sure to take the ones without sedatives. One of bottles contained anti-biotics. Dean wondered if Sam had given them to him as a precaution of if one of his multiple cuts had become infected. Creature inflicted wounds would sometimes become infected almost immediately but usually a mix of peroxide and holy water combined with a course of anti-biotics would do the trick. Dean swallowed one of those and two oxycodone for the pain. Then he grabbed his cell phone and called Bobby.

"Hello." The older man sounded half asleep. Well, Dean had called in the middle of the night.

"Bobby?"

"Dean? That you, boy?"

"Yeah."

"Glad to hear ya up and about. Sam said ya were in a sad state."

"It got him Bobby. The creature got Sam."

"What? How, what happened."

"I don't know. I just woke up and he was on the floor. Just like the coma patients."

"He's comatose?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, that's good."

"Good?" Dean practically shouted. "How can this be good Bobby?"

"Easy boy. All I meant was that it coulda been worse. We can't help him if he were dead. But if he's in a coma, we still got a chance. Did Sam tell ya 'bout this thing?"

"No."

"It's called the Harvester of Souls. It takes good souls and holds onto them until Halloween, when it consumes them for the energy to live for another twenty-five years."

"So, Sam's soul is still okay? It's just not in his body right now?"

"That's what I'm sayin'. If you can get to the Harvester, you can still save yer brother."

"That's what I was hoping you'd say." Dean could barely contain his relief. "I'm so ready to gank this bitch."

"Well, ya gotta find it first."

"And figure out how to kill it." Dean added.

"Decapitation. And then ya gotta destroy the head or it won't die and it'll eventually grow a new body."

"That's just nasty."

"I might have some suggestions on how to find it."

"Spill it."

"It needs a large space to conduct the soul consumption ritual. It won't leave the town as it'd need to stay close to the coma patients to ensure that they don't die. And before ya ask, the Harvester keeps 'em alive 'cause it wants to avoid confronting a reaper who'd show up to collect the soul if the person died. I'm compiling a list of what it needs for the ritual but so far there's nothing too specific. Symbols, fire, blood, the usual."

"So, a large space somewhere in town. Thanks Bobby, that really narrows it down." Dean replied sarcastically.

'Watch yer mouth, boy. I'm doing what I can."

"I know. Sorry."

"I get it. You're worried 'bout yer brother. But ya gotta think this through and not just run in and yer fool self killed." Bobby warned.

"You're right. I'll start looking around town. Maybe question some people on if they know of any unoccupied spaces."

"Not a three in the mornin' yer not. Get some rest and some food. Ya got two whole days before the ritual takes place."

"Bobby…"

"I'm serious, Dean. Sam told me 'bout yer injuries. If ya don't rest up ya ain't gonna be a bit of good to yer brother."

"Okay. Let me know if you find anything else." Without waiting for a response, Dean ended the call.

The hunter pulled on a black tee, a dark blue flannel shirt, and his boots. Then he grabbed his car keys and left the motel. Dean had rested enough. Now he was going to stop at the twenty-four hour diner he'd seen the day before and get some food with a side order of information from the waitress. Hopefully he'd have a solid lead by daybreak. Dean was going to save Sam. There was just no other option.

Author's Note Part Two: This isn't a cliffhanger! But Sam's life still hangs in the balance as does Dean's emotional well-being. Please leave a review and let me know what you think.