Twenty

Dean heard distant cries of small voices and he knew they had to be nearing the epicenter of the cave where the Basket Woman kept her prey. He hoped that he would find all survivors and no dead, but one could only wish in his line of work. Meanwhile as they'd walked, Christopher had explained his coming to be there to Dean.

"My dad used to tell me about this place all the time," Christopher explained. "When I was a kid he'd tell me these elaborate stories about 'Somewhere' as he'd dubbed it. He claimed he'd learned the name from a young fairy boy. The fairy boy had told him they had a long elaborate name for their world, but human ears could not understand their ancient language so they just called it Somewhere since it was nowhere in particular."

"Clever," Dean chuckled. "You've been here since the late eighties correct? How come you're not older?"

"Time works differently here," Christopher explained. "Like for instance one day here is two. One year is two years. I've been here many years, but it's been so much more out there in the real world."

"Well," Dean replied as he hacked a plant away from his face so they could keep walking without getting clothes lined. "You can thank your lucky then that you're not an old man."

"Thank you once again for the reminder that I have indeed been stuck here for most of my life," Christopher rolled his eyes and stepped over a pile of fallen rocks. "It's really boosting my self esteem by the minute."

Dean shushed him when they reached a bigger part of the cave and held his hand downwards, motioning for Christopher to stop walking. The two of them heard cries from the darkness and they found they were completely blind in the dark. Dean gingerly took a step forward and cursed when a jagged rock sliced up his leg and he wondered how he'd managed to stay uninjured until that very moment and suddenly a rock could be his downfall. He cursed and hissed out a pained breath before straightening out his balance and stepping forward again. Luckily this time he didn't hit anything.

"Remind me to not step where you do." Christopher said.

Dean ignored the remark and continued to make his way over to where the noises were coming from. He reached out to touch the wall and once his eyes readjusted he spotted two small figures trembling beneath him. He could also feel the warm hot blood dripping down his ankle, but he had to ignore it for he had other lives to save besides his own.

"Hey," Dean tried to calm the kids down as he knelt down face to face with them. "It's ok. I'm here to help you. I'm gonna get you guys out of here ok?"

Dean started to cut their restraints and eventually both of them popped and the kids moved. They would've run had they been able to see, but Dean kept them in place. Their voices were almost shot from crying and screaming.

"S-She's gonna eat us!" the boy of the pair sniffled.

"No she's not," Dean assured the children. "I'm gonna get you out of here. All of you, how many of you are there exactly?"

"I dunno," the boy spoke up again. "A good amount."

"What's your name kid?" Dean helped him up.

"Lane." The boy replied.

"Well Lane," Dean passed him over to Christopher and instructed him to take the kids out of the cave and to safety. "You're very brave and I want you to show me just how brave you can be ok? Can you go with Chris here to outside of the cave?"

"Y-Yeah," Lane replied with a nod only after Dean had thoroughly convinced him the Basket Woman wasn't going to eat him if he escaped. The girl was next.

"My name is Sierra and I wanna go home to my mommy." The girl shook a little.

Realization hit Dean like a freight train. He'd promised Sierra's mother Miranda he'd bring her little girl home. He figured by now she was wondering if Dean would make good on his promise and in response to his thoughts a look of determination washed over Dean's face. He touched his jacket and felt the lump of the girl's stuffed animal in the inside pocket. Amazingly it hadn't fallen out yet and Dean took that as a good sign.

"I'm gonna get you there ok?" Dean helped her over to Christopher and Lane. "But first you've gotta get out of here. Go with him ok he'll get you out of here-"

Dean was cut off by a deafening roar that shot through the cave like an explosion. Their talking had most likely awakened the Basket Woman and Dean's heart started to pound. They had a limited amount of time now. And when she came into view Dean's eyes widened and he almost tripped over the rock that had cut his skin in the first place. He motioned for Christopher to grab the kids and run and run they did. Dean could barely keep up with his busted foot, but once they reached the edges of the cave the blinding light was a Godsend.

Suddenly though their salvation became Dean's misery as he felt the same big and grimy hand pick him up again and lift him into the air. Dean let out a yelp and Christopher and the kids turned to see him becoming airborne. Just as it happened Puck Sindri and the others arrived on horseback and came to a screeching halt.

"Dean!" Sam yelled out and debated rushing to his brother's aid, but the look Dean shot him told to do otherwise.

"Sam," Dean exclaimed. "Distract her while I try to get a good stab in!"

Sam nodded and snapped the reigns signaling his horse to go. His horse took off and Puck and Sindri followed close behind him. Dean reached into his back pocket for the knife that the man had given him and once he grabbed it he locked on tight. Before he could make a solid stab though, the Basket Woman jerked her hand and Dean scraped her palm with the knife. She howled in pain and shook her hand, sending Dean tumbling to the ground below.

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