hello everyone. thank you all so much for the great reviews. sorry this took a little longer than i expected, i had alot of trouble with this chapter. hope you all enjoy, and a big thanks to kwater for helping me out.

IN TRANSIT

Chapter 7

Dean walked up to the man standing guard at the end of the log wagon. The guy towered a good three inches above Sam and was nearly twice as wide, but that hadn't stopped Dean in the past and the older Winchester wasn't about to let it stop him now. After all, 'Pete' had sent them; that had to count for something. Dean shuttered a bit at the memory, almost as though he could still feel the old man's fierce gaze burning through him. Dean didn't know what it was the man had seen in him, didn't know what had changed, but he and Sam had been invited into the inner circle mere moments after they were shooed away. And that was enough to stop him from asking questions.

"You boys lost?" The goliath asked, clearly trying to intimidate them, his overly large muscles flexing as both Dean and Sam approached.

"We're looking for car four eighty three." Dean stated his teeth clenched. The pain in his arm had been growing steadily ever since they left the train, the throbbing, pulsing, discomfort dulling his mind, making it harder and harder for him to think.

"There's no car by that number."

"I'm pretty sure you're lying since Pete sent us there to see Raven." Dean smirked, pushing through the pain; the brute before him shifting at the sound of the names.

"Junior." The man called over his shoulder, a boy Dean guessed to be no more than twelve appearing a few minutes later. The kid's eyes drifted over the brothers for a few seconds, taking them in, his face a mask of stone, stoic enough to rival even Dean. "Run and tell Raven to be expecting, and tell her one looks to be injured." And with a nod the little boy ran towards the back of the train.

"Straight back. Third car, no getting sidetracked." The man spoke firmly, his slow and stern voice conveying to the Winchesters just what would happen if they strayed.

Dean and Sam both nodded as they tried to move past him, the brute knocking into Dean's injured arm, hard, causing the older Winchester to grunt in pain. A sound that was, unfortunately, not lost on his brother. But thankfully, Sam didn't say one word to the man, choosing to rest his hand on Dean's left shoulder, steering his brother away from a fight he couldn't currently win.

"Do you have to antagonize everyone you meet?" Sam began in a whisper, glancing back at the sentinel.

"Not everyone." Dean smiled through the pain. His arm had been fine when he first hurt it, nothing more than a heavy sprain, at least in Dean's opinion. But after their encounter with the human fly of doom, after using it to hold both he and his brother inside a train, well now his arm was little more than a mangled mess.

"Dean, that guy could have broken you in half."

"But he didn't."

Sam just raised his eyebrows, staring incredulously at his brother. "Yeah, because you're holding your arm like it's about to fall off."

"Don't be dramatic."

"Oh, I'm being dramatic. I'm not the one that said my arm was fine."

"Yeah, was." Dean mumbled, instantly regretting it when his little brother turned on the spot, piercing brown eyes boring into him.

"Was?"

"Huh?" Dean began trying to act innocent, but his little brother wasn't buying it.

"Don't 'huh' me. What do you mean, was?"

"It was fine in the past, but now in the future it no longer is."

"Stop being an ass,"

"You're the one that asked the stupid question."

"Alright, Yoda, why then is it no longer fine?"

Dean mumbled beneath his breath, the words so low that he himself could barely hear them.

"Louder."

"I hurt it worse when I was hanging onto the door."

"If it was already broken then why didn't you use your other arm?"

"Because that one was busy keeping you on the train."

"What? When?"

"When bug man was melting your brain."

Dean wished he hadn't said anything, wished he had just kept the truth to himself. But the pain radiating through his body was making it hard for him to think, and all he wanted to do was lay down. Dean looked up into his brother's eyes as the silence stretched on, all his resolve crumbling when he saw the younger man's face. Sam looked like he had been physically slapped, his tattered emotions on overdrive, and Dean knew he was responsible.

"It wasn't your fault, Sam."

"Dean--."

"You shouldn't keep her waiting."

Sam and Dean both turned towards the voice. The little boy they had seen mere moments before was standing behind them, his eyes traveling over them as though they had arrived from another planet.

"Raven?" Dean asked, but the little boy just turned and ran. "That kids seem weird to you?"

"Everything seems weird to me right now." Sam mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walked towards Raven's car.

Dean just watched his brother sulk ahead of him, wishing there was something he could do, something he could say to make it all right. He knew his little brother was still suffering from the creature's attack, that the younger man's twisted memories were still eating away at him, punishing him with each trip through his tortured mind. And Dean just wanted to fix it, just wanted to be a big brother, to protect Sam.

They approached car four eighty three a minute or two later. The boxcar being much smaller than the brothers had expected, the thing looking like it had been apart of the train for well over a hundred years. There wasn't much it could hold, of that the brothers were certain, and Dean found himself wondering how both people and cargo could fit inside it.

Sam walked gingerly to the door, knocking lightly on the worn wooden surface. He shrugged a few moments later, turning away when he was met by nothing but silence, his soft eyes taking in his older brother's ragged appearance. Dean knew he looked like shit, hell, he could feel the overwhelming crappiness running through him. But, if anything, Dean knew that Sam looked worse.

"Maybe she's not there?" Sam began, his voice low.

"Nah, the kid said she was in there."

"Do you think, maybe, they tricked us? You know, like set a trap?"

Dean knew what his brother was getting at, and he knew that it was a very logical assumption. They were stuck on a train with who knew what attacking people, a group of sadly misguided teens, and now an entire community of people that could have been the ringleaders of the FTRA for all they knew. But there was something else, something Dean couldn't explain, but something he also couldn't ignore, and it was pushing him on. He almost felt as though he needed to meet these people, and not just for his arm.

"I hear one of you is hurt." A sharp and steady voice cut through his mind, pulling Dean back into the gloom of the wilderness around him.

The train had stopped in a steep, heavily wooded area, the kind of place people could go missing in without anyone batting an eye.

"My brother." Sam spoke before Dean could stop him.

Both brothers stared as the woman known as Raven came into view. She was older, probably in her sixties, and tall, her jet black hair falling to her waist. Her skin was dark, face set with features so sharp that Dean was sure they had been chiseled by an artist. But the most mesmerizing thing of all was her eyes. She seemed to stare through Sam, her gaze piercing, knowing, dark as a storm yet still somehow soft.

"Why are you here?" She asked, her voice sharp as glass, eyes never leaving Sam.

"I, uh, my brother." Sam stumbled, shrinking back a bit under the gaze.

"I know why you are standing before, boy. Why are you here on this train?"

"My brother and I." Sam began, his eyes soft and imploring, a lie building as he spoke. "We don't have much money, or any other way to travel."

She slide a few feet back into the car, her eyes on fire, sharp features shining in the weak sunlight. "I do not tolerate those who lie."

"But, please." Sam jumped forward as the woman began to slide the door closed. "Please, my brother's hurt."

Dean knew what Sam was doing, knew he was feeling guilty for the injury, but he also knew that begging and lying wasn't the way to get the woman's help. But, much to the elder Winchester's surprise, the woman stopped at Sam's words, her eyes drifting over the twenty two year old's head and landing on Dean. The older man didn't know what it was, but he just couldn't take his eyes off her, her dark orbs burning through him much like Pete's had done. She surveyed him, taking extra care as she searched his face, before her eyes finally settled on the arm he was guarding.

"Come here, child." She said, beckoning to Dean.

He moved forward a little reluctantly; if anything, he'd much rather be called 'boy' than 'child'. "My name's Dean."

"That makes no difference to me."

Dean looked at the woman like she had two heads, Raven paying no mind to his glare or his comment as he made his way slowly towards her. She was a strong and powerful woman, of that he had no doubt, but there was something else about her, something darker, deeper, and Dean just couldn't figure it out. All he knew was that there was more to the story hidden behind her obsidian eyes.

"Come in." She stated smoothly as soon as she saw his arm. "Just him." She snapped when Sam stepped forward, the younger man freezing in his tracks at the words.

"If you don't mind.--" He began, but she cut across him.

"I do."

Raven moved back into the shadows of her boxcar without another word, leaving the brothers alone once again. Dean stood by the door for a few minutes, part of his mind telling him to stay out of the creepy car while the other part was telling him to hop in.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sam asked in a hushed voice, grabbing Dean's uninjured arm when the older hunter stepped forward.

"What's it look like I'm doing?"

"I don't want you in there alone."

"Sam, you're the one that was just begging her for help."

"Look, Dean, let's just get back to our own car. I'll patch you up there."

"Why? Come on, man, this is our one chance to get answers."

"How do you figure that?"

"These people have been around for years, who knows what they've seen."

"Dean, please, I have a bad feeling about this."

"You have a bad feeling about everything."

"Well, this time it's serious. You can't tell me you haven't noticed the interest they've all taken in you."

"What interest?" Dean lied, but Sam just rolled his eyes. "Bitch."

"Jerk."

"Maybe they all just feel sorry for me?"

"One of their friends just died, I don't think they're feeling sorry for you."

"Well then maybe they just don't like you?"

Dean's smiled widened a bit when Sam immediately looked to the ground, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, almost like a scolded child.

"Aw, come on, Sammy, you can't be everybody's favorite."

"I still have a real bad feeling about this, Dean."

"So what? You think we should just wander around till bug man shows up again?"

"That's not what I meant."

"I'll be fine, Sam. Don't worry so much." And with one last glance at his brother, Dean disappeared into the dark train car.