Living on a Prayer Ch. 3
Disclaimer: I don't anything recognizable in this story, nor am I making any profit from it.
Author's Note: Please forgive any mistakes in the chapter as this chapter has not been beta'ed.
Previously: "Nothing here eith-DEAN LOOK OUT," Sammy shouted as he witnessed the Alphyn drop down from a tree above, its claws glinting menacingly in the late afternoon sun.
"Arrrghhhhh," Dean moaned as he fell to the ground, a sharp pebble digging deep into his palm, as his head connected solidly with the ground. He didn't have time to contemplate the pain however as he heard his baby brother scream out in pain.
"SAMMY," Dean shouted in angst, shaking the cobwebs clear from his head as he heard the roar of his father's rifle going off. He didn't take the time to check and see if his father had killed the damn monster however as the overwhelming need to get to Sammy consumed him.
Crawling quickly over to his fallen sibling, Dean cradled the younger boy's head in his lap as a deep crimson began to stain his brother's clothing.
"Sa-Sammy. You're going to be okay Kiddo. Everything is going to be okay," Deane soothed, tears brimming over from his eyes as he carded his fingers through his brother's too-long chestnut colored hair. "You hear me Kiddo? You have to be okay?
Of course, Sammy didn't hear him as the fifteen year old gave over to the pull of unconsciousness, the pain just too much to bear at the time.
"Dean? Dean, I need you to help me take care of Sammy, can you do that for me son?" John inquired of his eldest as he watched Dean emit an involuntary shiver. He needed to get Dean to focus before he succumbed to a threatening state of shock, so that they could administer life-saving first aid to his youngest.
"Da-Dad?" Dean questioned as he pulled Sammy close, his brother now lying unconscious in his tightly held grip.
"Yeah Ace, it's me," John answered, reaching out to lift Sam's jacket and shirt to assess the damage inflicted on his son from the now dead alphyn. His heart nearly shattered as he took in the heavily bleeding wound that encompassed a large area on Sam's right side from the alphyn's talons having sunk deep into his son's flesh when it attacked.
"Dean, I need you to lay Sam's head on the ground and prop his legs up in the air for me, Son," John informed his eldest as he stripped off his marine issued jacket and lay it over Sam. "We've got to get Sam's feet elevated to slow down this bleeding.
"'Kay," Dean replied, responding automatically to the order, even if his mildly concussed mind was struggling to comprehend what had just happened in a very short span of time.
Quickly grabbing the medkit from his backpack, John wrenched it open and pulled a packet of gauze dressing from inside. Tearing open the packet forcefully, he pulled the sterile contents from the pouch and pressed it to his baby boy's side, eliciting a groan from the unconscious youngster.
"S'okay, Kiddo. You're going to be okay," John unknowingly mimicked Dean's words from earlier as he continued to apply direct pressure to the wound. He had to get it slowed down or stopped before his child bled to death in the woods.
Though he was sorely tempted to check the wound with each passing minute, John held direct pressure on it for at least twenty minutes knowing that it would take at least that long for the bleeding to slow down or stop.
"Dad, what are waiting for? We gotta get Sammy out of here and get him some help," Dean voiced anxiously as he held nervously onto his brother's legs.
"I know that Sport, but I've got to make sure the bleeding is under control before we try to move your brother," John intoned as he finally lifted the gauze, and took a little comfort in the fact that the bleeding had slowed considerably. He just wished it had stopped entirely.
"Okay, the bleeding has slowed, but it hasn't stopped completely, so I'm going to have to make a quick travois to carry him out of here," John informed his eldest as he swiped a calloused hand across the five o'clock shadow of a beard that was now adorning the lower part of his rugged face. "Keep pressure on that wound."
"Yes Sir," Dean replied, waiting for his father to place another pressure bandage over the blood soaked one already on his brother's side.
Knowing that he could use one of their sleeping bags as the covering for the makeshift stretcher, John quickly found two sturdy branches, approximately ten feet long, which would work well for the base of the travois. Gathering some shorter branches, he quickly set about to building the contraption by notching some slits into the longer branches on which the shorter ones would rest. Once he had them placed about two inches apart, he wrapped some heavy string around them to help hold them in place.
"Okay Dean, once I get this sleeping bag in place to make the travois a little more comfortable for Sam, I need you to help me to gently transfer him onto it son," John stated as he began to spread out his own sleeping bag over the wooden travois. It wasn't the best that he had ever made, but they needed to get Sammy to help as quickly as possible.
Working in tandem, the two eldest Winchesters maneuvered their youngest onto the makeshift stretcher, being careful not to aggravate the wound any further. Sammy couldn't afford to lose much more blood.
Grabbing the backpack that contained their weapons, John slung it over his back, and then reached down to grasp the two front handles of the travois. "Let's get moving," he stated as he motioned for Dean to pick up the other end. He would have to come back later to salt and burn the carcass. The sooner they got some help for Sammy, the better it would be.
"Dad, it's gonna be nightfall before long. How are we going to find our way back to the Impala?" Dean questioned worriedly.
"We're not going back to the Impala son," John informed his oldest child as he led the way through the woods. He feared that Sam wouldn't survive the long trek through the woods. "We're heading down to the lake. There is a Ranger station near there and they can get Sammy to some help a lot quicker than we can."
"'S'good," Dean voiced though clenched teeth as he struggled to carry the little through the pounding in his head and the ache in his palm. Yeah, he was hurting, but he was sure it was nothing when compared to how his baby brother was doing.
"You doing okay back there Ace?" John asked as he turned his head to check on Dean. He knew it hard to be hard on the nineteen year old, helping to carry the travois, with the slight concussion the boy most likely had, but they just couldn't chance re-opening the wound on Sam's side by having the back end of it drag across the ground and jarring his youngest.
"Yes Sir, I'm fine. Don't worry about me," Dean answered, as he kept his mind solely focused on getting some help for his sibling. Pain was nothing to him right now. He'd suffer through anything when it came to his baby brother.
~~Supernatural~~
Laying on the travois, Sam floated in that state just before consciousness. He thought maybe he had been hurt, but his mind was so fuzzy that he had trouble recalling what had happened to him. He thought he heard voices, but then it sounded more like the swarm of bees buzzing around his head and he nearly gave to the blackness calling him once again. That is until he heard the sound of his brother's voice, a voice that sounds as though it was laced with pain.
"D…De'n," Sam stuttered softly as his head tossed from side to side.
Hearing the sound of his baby's voice, John stopped in his tracks and then started lowering the stretcher to the ground as Dean did the same on his end.
"I'm right here, Tiger," Dean soothed as he leaned in close and ruffled his sibling's hair gently.
"Ok'y?" Sam queried, leaning into the comfort of his brother's hand.
"Yeah, Kiddo, I'm fine," Dean replied. "Don't you know by now that I'm Superman and nothing can hurt me? You're the one's hurt."
"Sammy, how are you feeling, Son?" John asked, entering into the conversation as he kneeled down beside his youngest and palmed the teen's clammy cheek.
"Uh…'kay?" Sam replied, unsure of how he was supposed to answer the question, his mind just too muddled to put a coherent thought together.
"That doesn't sound too convincing, Dude," Dean voiced, his eyes glassy with unshed tears as he continued to card his fingers through Sammy's hair to offer what little comfort he could, while he watched as John assessed the wound on Sam's side once more. "Dad?"
"He's doing alright for now, but…" John left the words unspoken as he placed his jacket over Sam to help keep him warm and then returned to his position at the head of the travois. "We have to get moving."
"How much further to the Ranger's station?" Dean asked, fear for his baby brother evident in his voice.
"Should only be another couple of miles," John replied, knowing it would be the longest two miles of his life. Sam desperately needed medical attention NOW.
~~Supernatural~~
Standing on the porch of the Ranger's Statin as he surveyed Lake Winnipesaukee below with his binoculars for any signs of reckless boaters," Ranger Mike Wilson whistled as he took in the lovely young lady laying out on the deck of one of the boats in her barely there bikini. It was definitely one of the perks of his job.
"Whatcha looking at Mike?" Ranger Tom Quinton inquired as he shook his head in bemusement at the younger forest ranger. The kid sure did have an eye for the ladies.
"Oh, just about the hottest little number I have ever seen," Mike answered as he held out the binoculars for the other ranger to see.
"No thanks man. Happily married here," Tom informed his partner as he waggled his ring finger, the wedding band just barely glinting in the late afternoon sun. It would be getting dark soon.
"Your loss," Mike voiced as he returned to his 'lake' watching. His enjoyment was cut short however as he heard the sound or shouting coming from the woods just to the right side of the cabin.
"HELP, WE NEED SOME HELP HERE, PLEASE!"
Tucking the binoculars quickly into his jacket, Mike hopped over the banister as he saw Tom running to meet the two men coming out of the woods and carrying a travois between them.
"What happened?" Tom asked as he ran up to the travois and quickly took in the condition of the young kid laying on it.
"My Son, he was attacked by something in the woods," John answered.
"Mike, get to the radio. Tell them to have a helicopter waiting on us at Geneva Point Center, and then get the speedboat ready for transport. This kid is hurt bad!"
On it, Mike answered his senior partner as he dashed back towards the cabin. From the sound of it, they were facing a life or death situation.
Loading Sam on the boat quickly, Ranger Tom Quinton started administering what little first aid as he quickly hooked the teen up to an IV. He just hoped it would be enough since the kid was obviously in a deepening state of shock. Covering the boy up with a blanket, to provide extra warmth, he kneeled by his side as the boat sped off toward Geneva Point and its landing pad.
Holding onto the side of the boat as it sped towards help, Dean's eyes were suddenly drawn to what looked to be an outdoor chapel with a cross located in the middle of it. He closed his eyes and silently prayed that his brother would live to see it.
TBC Thanks so much for the reviews you send. They are what keeps me writing.