yay! another chapter. thank you to everyone that reviewed, it means the world to me. i hope this chapter doesnt disappoint. we are nearing the end now, just a few chapters left to go. enjoy!!

IN TRANSIT

Chapter 12

Pete sat in the empty train car, his head resting against the wall, eyes closed. It was so close to being over. Everything was finally falling into place, he just had to hold on for a little bit longer. It had all been a simple mistake, nothing more, just an accident. But, somewhere along the line, everything had spiraled out of control, and he had to put a stop to it. It was his job to fix it, and he was certain that he would be able to do it. He just needed to figure out a way, just needed to keep them apart long enough, needed to make them understand.

It wasn't his fault, wasn't his doing. Time changed the best of men, and Pete claimed no fault in the way things had turned out. It was all just a misunderstanding, a hiccup in their plans, a deviation from the way their lives had been. There was nothing he could have done, no way he could have stopped what happened. No, life just followed the way it was meant to, their pasts vanishing as the present wiped away all they could have been, silencing their dreams and hopes with an all encompassing darkness. It wasn't his fault, wasn't anyone's fault, it was just a mistake.

"Pete." Raven's strong voice cut through the heavy air, the old man pushing his eyes open at the sound.

He couldn't do this now, couldn't listen to her berate him, belittle him for something that was beyond his control. He was making a life out of what he had been given, just like the rest of them, so why should he be held responsible for the problems that had developed along the way.

"Pete."

"What, Raven?" He asked, his voice nowhere near as stern as it normally was. In all honesty, he was tired. Life had beaten him down, had left him alone and broken on forgotten railway lines. He wanted things to be the way they were supposed to be, the way they had been. It wasn't fair, wasn't right. Everything in his life had been taken from him, and people were still trying to take more.

"You need to reconsider your plan."

"He's perfect."

"He's stronger then Benjamin ever was."

Pete stood, rounding on the woman before him, his eyes lit with fire. But Raven didn't back down or flinch. "You know nothing of my brother."

"I know enough to see the difference."

"The boy's perfect." Pete stated again, trying with everything that was in him to make Raven see, to open her eyes to the reality that was around her. He was perfect. "He's so much like him, Raven."

"And he's vastly different at the same time."

"It's close enough."

"Pete, please. Rethink this."

"It's the only way, Raven. You want the killings to stop? You want to live on this train in peace? This is the only way."

"They're children."

"I've already told you that I'm sorry about that. But, Raven, we have no other choice."

"They know."

"Know what?"

"About what lives in the dark, about what's killing on the train."

"How do you know?"

"The older one told me. That's why they're here."

"It doesn't matter." Pete lied, turning away from the woman's dark gaze. It didn't matter, he told himself again, his eyes sliding closed as cold air bit at his face.

"There has to be another way."

"You know there isn't."

"But you have no idea if this will work or not."

"It will, Raven." Pete spoke earnestly, turning imploring eyes to her. "It will."

"This may be something no one can fix."

"All mistakes can be fixed."

"Is letting them die really fixing anything?"

"You'd rather I let this go? Rather I told more girls like Molly when their men are dying. They're outsiders, Raven, no one will miss them."

"Pete."

"I won't leave my brother to suffer. I can fix this."

666666666666

Dean stood stock still on the back of the car, his mind racing, heart beating fast. The creature had just stared at him, locked eyes with him, and then it had left. It hadn't filled his mind with nightmares, hadn't tried to kill him. It just acknowledged him, and left, searching the train for another victim. He couldn't move, his eyes refusing to leave the spot where he had last seen the creature. It seemed so incredibly human in those few short seconds, its face and eyes taking on an almost calming effect. In all honesty, it looked sad.

"Dean! Down!" Sam's shout brought Dean back to reality, the older Winchester throwing himself down on the top of the train car mere seconds before they were plunged into a small, dark tunnel.

Dean could feel the fierce wind against his back, the howl of the train piercing his ears as they traveled through the darkness. He knew, even without looking, that his back was mere inches away from the roof of the tunnel and he stayed as flat as he could against the cool metal. He could feel it heating up beneath him, the friction building with each passing second. He could still hear his brother calling his name, but he didn't dare raise his head high enough to shout an answer. His back was starting to burn, muscles aching as he held himself low against the boxcar.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Dean felt the cool air on his back once more, the light returning as the train left the tunnel. But Dean didn't move, he just stayed where he was, his forehead resting against the metal beneath him, body shaking as the adrenaline dissipated. That had been way, way too close.

"Dean? Dean?" Dean heard Sam call him again, his brother's voice much closer then it had been a few minutes before.

"I hate trains." Dean groused, looking up into his brother's worries eyes, Sam standing on the ladder at the back of the boxcar.

"I thought this was your childhood dream?"

"Yeah well, my childhood was twisted."

"You alright, dude?" Sam asked, his voice laced with concern. After all, it wasn't everyday his big brother admitted he was wrong about something.

"Oh yeah, I'm just great. How about you? I saw you're acrobatics on the logs."

"I'm fine."

"You didn't look all that fine."

"Yeah well, I've just gotta keep a lid on the nightmares. Which, by the way, you nearly getting your head chopped off isn't gonna help."

"Whoops." Dean mumbled, sliding to his knees, his right arm held close to his body.

"Whoops? That's all you have to say?"

"I was a little preoccupied with bug dude."

"You saw him?"

"Yeah, a couple of minutes ago, about ten cars down."

"You're sure?"

"Well, now that I think about it, it may have been a moth."

"Whatever dude, let's just get back inside before there's another tunnel."

"Fine by me." Dean winced as Sam pulled him to his feet, the two making their way slowly down the roof of the boxcar.

They looked like they'd both been to hell and back, Dean's body shaking from both pain and adrenaline, while Sam looked like he was in the throws of a long disease. All in all, they looked more like the hunted then the hunters. The creature and the trains had done a number on the brothers, beating them down with each passing moment. Dean was tired, his battered body aching, arm throbbing once more. And Sam was paler then Dean had ever seen him, a thin layer a sweat coating his body as he shook with shock.

Dean tried to straighten under his brother's weight, but Sam's grip tightened around him as he tried to move away. He was supposed to be looking out for Sam, not the other way around. He had been the one that wanted to go on the hunt in the first place, all while his brother tried to talk him out of it. And now, well now Dean wished he had listened to his little brother. Sam looked like hell, his body weak, skin cool to the touch. Dean had no idea what was keeping him going. It seemed now like every time Sam closed his eyes he was thrown back into the nightmares, the after effects growing worse with each attack. And he was afraid that they were almost out of time.

"You look like crap, Sammy." Dean sighed, sliding down the wall of the boxcar as Sam pulled the heavy door closed.

"Right back at you."

"I mean it."

"So do I."

"Sam."

"Look, Dean, you're right, I feel like crap, but there's nothing we can do about it right now. The only thing we can do is finish the hunt."

"Sure thing, Rambo."

"Did you find anything out?" Sam asked, rubbing his hands over his face and sitting next to his brother.

Dean looked at Sam long and hard, taking in his haggard appearance. He needed to find a way to fix this, needed to get Sam out of there before he was lost to the nightmares permanently.

"Yeah, actually, I think Raven's in on whatever's going on?"

"Really? Why do you say that?"

"Let's just say that I have my reasons." Dean answered. He didn't want to mention the nightmares, afraid that just speaking on them would send Sam into another emotional tailspin. They were balanced on the edge of a knife, and Dean was afraid that even the slightest mistake would cause both he and his brother to fall.

"Thanks for the cryptogram. Are you any closer to figuring out what's going on? Or are you just pegging Raven as the bug master?"

"Well, smart ass, it turns out that Pete had an older brother."

"Benjamin."

"How the hell did you know that?" Dean asked, eyeing his brother suspiciously. "Has your freaky vision thing been working this whole time?"

"Molly told me. Well, she told me a story about a guy named Benjamin, I just assumed we were talking about the same person."

"You know what happens when you assume, Sammy."

"Are you done being stupid, because we have a bug man to hunt."

"I'm just saying, Sam." Dean raised his hands innocently, a smirk plastered on his face.

"What do you know about Benjamin?" Sam asked, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath for patients.

"Well, from what Raven tells me he was Pete's big brother. Pete loved the guy, worshiped the ground he walked on, but Ben went away to war. And, when he came back, he was different."

"Different like demon different?"

"Nah, more like 'I've seen horrible things' different."

"So, what happened?"

"Well apparently, he fell for this girl, told her he was gonna take her away. But, at the last minute, Raven and Pete hid him and told her he ditched her. Girl got pissed, and then got 'the devil in her eye' and five years ago, both her and Benjamin bit it."

"That's right when the killings started."

"Bingo. Ben was number one."

"That's basically the same thing Molly told me, that this girl went dark side and cursed the train. So, burn her bones?"

"I don't know, Sam, I just feel like we're missing something."

"And you think it's Raven? What aren't you telling me?" Sam asked, his brown eyes boring into his brother. "Dean."

"It's just, she kept telling me how much I was like him. And she still won't call me by my name which is creepy in it's own right."

"She said you were just like Benjamin?"

"Well, she did and she didn't. The whole conversation had a real strong Yoda vibe about it."

"What else did she say?"

"Uh, apparently, Ben had been having nightmares for years. She didn't know if it was an after affect of the service or Kathy."

"So what? It could be Kathy, or it could be Ben, or it could be something else entirely?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much the gist of it."

"So we still have no clue?"

"Yeah, looks that way."

"Well that's just great." Sam began, rubbing his forehead.

"You alright, dude?"

"Yeah, nothing a few days sleep wouldn't fix." Sam began, his eyes slowly sliding closed.

"Yo, Sammy, stay with me."

"Huh?"

"You gotta stay awake." Dean began, turning to kneel before his brother.

He could feel his heart beating faster and faster as the seconds passed. Sam had been awake and lucid just a few seconds before, but now he was fading fast. He slumped forward into Dean's arms, his head falling on his should, muscles going lax as he struggled to stay awake.

"Sammy? Come on."

"Dean, I can't."

"Yes you can, Sam, stay with me." Dean couldn't help the tremor that cut through his voice, his mind going into over drive. It was like he was being attacked all over again.

Attacked again! Dean spun on his knees, Sam's large frame still resting against him as he reached for his gun. He pulled out his .45, and pointed it towards the roof of the boxcar, pulling Sam a bit closer as he pulled the trigger. He hear a bone rattling screech echo through the large canyon around them, the metal above them creaking down under the weight of the beast's claws before it jumped to another car.

Dean let out a long sigh of relief when he heard the thing leave, his injured arm still wrapped protectively around his brother. He slid the gun into the waistband of his jeans, taking one more look at the dented ceiling before turning his eyes back to Sam. And what he saw made his heart skip a beat.

Sam was as white as a sheet, his eyes half opened, breathing short and raspy. His entire body was shaking, the tremors coming with such force that Dean was finding it difficult to keep a grip on his little brother. He was going into shock, slipping away right there in his arms.

"Sammy, come on, dude. Wake up."

"Dean, please no." Sam mumbled, the tremors growing more violent as he spoke. "Please god."

"Sam, listen to me, I'm right here."

"It hurts so much." Sam mumbled, and though his eyes had finally opened, Dean wasn't sure what he was actually seeing.

"Just listen to me."

"Why won't it stop. Just make it end, make it leave."

"Sammy?"

"Make it leave, make it go away."

"Sam, listen to me, follow my voice, just like before."

"Why?"

"Why, because I'm asking you to." Dean answered, a bit taken back by the question.

"Why, please, just leave me alone."

"Sam!" Dean yelled, grabbing Sam by the shoulders with his good arm. "Wake up!"

"Please."

"No! Wake up! You're in a train car, we're hunting a bug dude."

"No."

"Yes! Snap out of it."

"Dean?" Sam asked a few minutes later, Dean letting out a breath when he felt his brother's tremors begin to lessen.

"Yeah, Sammy."

"It's after him."

"After who?"

"Pete."

"What, how do you know?"

"Because it thinks I'm him."