Chapter 11
"SAM!" Dean dove headlong into the chilly, yet fluffy, snowdrift that he had suddenly found himself in. He'd been looking for Sam for almost five minutes now, and Dean had noticed that although the snow was cold, it was less cold than the water had been...which was, you know…odd.
He dug into the small mountain of powder, tossing handfuls of snow in all directions. Soon, his hands were red from the abuse, but Dean didn't notice, he just kept on looking.
Finally, he uncovered a piece of brown corduroy…and recognized it immediately; Sam's favorite jacket.
"Sam!" Dean shouted as he tugged with all the strength he had left. Surprisingly, his brother came loose pretty easily. Unfortunately, Sam was still pretty close to unconscious.
"Sam, wake up!" Dean pulled his brother to a relatively flat spot in the snow, and knelt beside him, checking his brother's pulse. It was still there, but it was slow.
"Come on Sammy, wake up man! I'm not carrying your heavy carcass in this!" Dean pleaded, smacking Sam's face lightly. Sam groaned weakly. "Atta boy, Sammy, wake on up dude." Dean continued to coax his brother back to the land of the living.
"So…cold…" Sam managed quietly.
"Yeah, dude, I know. Snow tends to be that way." Dean replied, rubbing Sam's hands to try and get some warmth back in them. He surveyed their surroundings for the first time in ten minutes.
Nothing….just snow. There wasn't even wind. Come to think of it, there wasn't even a sky, at least, not that Dean could see. All he saw was endless miles of white. He turned back to his brother, who was blinking his eyes a little more now.
"It's so bright in here…where's all the water?" Sam asked, squinting up at Dean. "Uh…well, there's good news, and then there's bad news." Dean stated looking up at the…whatever was there. "The good news is that we are no longer trapped in the elevator. At least, I'm pretty sure we're not anyway. The bad news is that we are now trapped in an endless winter wonderland." Dean swept his arm in an outward arc, indicating the vast open…openness.
Sam blinked again, "We're trapped in a what?" Dean helped him sit up, and he looked around for a second, and then looked back at Dean. "Oh...never mind."
"Yeah. So, I'm thinking we head North." Dean said, fishing around in his jacket pocket. Sam looked at him and blinked groggily, "Are you serious? Dean, we have no idea where we are or how we got here."
Dean knit his eyebrows together as he continued to feel around in his pocket, "I know it's in here some- Ah, HA!" He raised his hand in the air, waving about a small round object in triumph. "That, Sammy boy, is why we will use a compass." He cocked his head with a grin.
Sam glared at his brother. Some days Dean could be a real jerk, and Sam was getting tired of it.
Dean's grin faded at the look on Sam's face, and he felt anger begin to bubble up from nowhere, "Look Sam, what do you want me to say? What are we supposed to do, just sit here until hell freezes over?" He got to his feet, frustration replacing fatigue. "For all we know we're in hell, and it has frozen over!" He lifted his arms from his sides and let them drop back down again. "I mean, friggin' hell Sam, I couldn't keep you happy if my life depended on it!"
Dean was surprised at how fast the anger had replaced his optimism, but not nearly as surprised as Sam.
Sam's eyebrows were raised to his hairline. Dean's anger had struck deep, and for no other reason than the word placement of his last statement.
'I mean, friggin hell Sam…' Sam blinked as the words echoed,'…couldn't keep you…if my life depended on it…' He felt tears begin to surface, he tried to stop them,'…hell Sam…hell…'He failed.
Failure. That's what it was always about, Sam's failure. He'd failed to keep Jessica safe, he'd failed to find his father when they needed him, he'd failed to keep his father once they found him, he'd failed to kill Azazel when he'd had the chance…on and on, the failures poured through Sam's mind.
Dean felt his sudden burst of anger dissipate as quickly as it had come, and regret soon replaced it. He watched as the emotions flashed by on Sam's face, like images on a television screen in fast forward. He watched as his brother's eyes filled with tears, and he watched as the tears began to flow down his face, unchecked. Sam didn't even seem to notice them…there was something deeper going on.
"Hey…Sam…Sam, I'm sorry dude…don't cry, man." Dean knelt beside his wounded sibling, placing a hand on his shoulder. But Sam didn't acknowledge the motion, as he continued to watch his own personal nightmare unfold in his mind.
…he'd failed to get his family to the hospital safely, he'd failed to recognize what his father's intentions had been before he died, he'd failed to keep a demon from possessing his own body, he'd failed to eliminate the threat in Cold Oak, and now…now he would fail to keep his own brother out of hell. His own brother…his only brother. He was one giant failure, through and through.
Dean began to get worried, Sam was an emotional person, but he'd never ignored Dean before. "Sam, come on dude, that's enough alright?" Sam's tears had turned to sobs, but he continued to stare straight ahead, as though watching something Dean couldn't see. Dean tried again, "Sam, I said I'm sorry…Sammy, snap out of it!" Dean took hold of his brother's shoulders and shook him.
Perhaps it was the jolt of being moved, or it might have been Dean's raised voice, but whatever it was, it snapped Sam back to reality. He jerked in surprise as his eyes focused in on his surroundings, and found his brother less than three inches from his face.
Sam's sobs quickly turned into hiccups and the occasional hitched breath. "Dean? What…wha-" Sam looked around, dazed and confused. Dean looked worried, "Sam, what just happened? Was that a freaky vision thing, or…?"
Sam shook his head. No headache, and…why was his face wet? "No…I don't think so…I can't remember." Dean looked at his sibling with guarded eyes, "Okay…well, I'm sorry…about what I said. I…I was just frustrated, that's all."
Sam looked at him for a second, and slowly his memory came back to him. What was it…something about freezing in hell? He couldn't remember exactly, but an uneasy feeling had rooted itself in the pit of his stomach, so he decided to leave it alone. "Yeah, sure Dean…forget it."
Dean continued to study Sam for a moment longer, and then shrugged it off. Whatever had just happened, it wasn't going to get solved today. They had bigger fish to fry at the moment. "Right. Well, geek boy…" He helped Sam to his feet, noticing the cringe as his brother's ribs reminded him of their condition, "…how about you navigate, and I'll steer?" He gave Sam the compass, and then hefted his brother's arm over his shoulder, placing his own arm around Sam's back.
Sam studied the compass a second and then looked at Dean. "Uh…about that…" He turned the compass towards Dean, "…easier said than done."
Dean stared at the compass. The arrow was spinning in circles, first to the right, then to the left, then back to the right. "Dude, this sucks out loud."
No compass, no stars, no sun, not even wind, just miles and miles of snow. There was absolutely no way to tell direction. Sam looked at his brother, and although it was unnecessary, he decided to ask the obvious question anyway.
"So…what now?"
"Excuse me ma'am, but were you saying something about odd occurrences happenin' around here?" Bobby's voice held a note of weariness in it. He had been scouring the neighborhood for any sign of his two pals, and hadn't found hide nor hair of either. He couldn't even find their car.
He had spent half an hour digging around in the remains of what had once been the boy's hotel room, and found nothing to explain where the missing hunters had gone. He'd gone to the library where Bobby assumed they had begun their research, and found the place as much a mess as the hotel room, but no clues to where the Winchesters were now. It was odd, Bobby thought, that there hadn't been any cops around either site.
So, Bobby had decided to give himself a small rest before continuing the search. He'd stopped at a small diner about five minutes from the wreckage that was the library, and found it to be mostly empty, for which he was thankful. Bobby wasn't much for crowds, never had been…it's just easier to be on the alert if there aren't a lot of people around to keep track of.
He took note of the elderly gentleman at one end of the bar, and two middle aged women in a booth by the window, one with short brown hair, and the other with long red hair.
He sat at the other end of the bar, away from anyone else, and ordered a cup of coffee and a sandwich. The bartender went to work preparing his guests order, so Bobby did what he did best a lot of times. He listened.
Not too long after that, Bobby approached the two women in the booth, having overheard what might have been his first clue.
The red haired woman looked up at him uneasily, "Pardon me?"
"I'm sorry to intrude ma'am, but I couldn't help but overhear what you said about there being strange things going on here lately…is that right?" Bobby pressed, he really wasn't in the mood for making nicey nice with anyone.
The woman looked at her friend, unsure of his intentions. Her friend shrugged her a I-guess-he's-ok look. She turned back to Bobby.
"Well, yeah. There have been a few strange things going on around here, but they've been going on for a while now." She said.
Bobby knit his eyebrows together, "What sorts of things, if you don't mind me askin'?"
"Oh, just the same stuff that's been going on for a few years now. Talk of a monster in the woods near here, and some kooky bunch of folks that worship it or something. You know, just stories." She said nonchalantly.
'Crap, maybe this isn't a lead to Sam and Dean, but it's a start.' "A monster, huh?" He said, trying to sound as skeptical as he could. Wouldn't do for people to start thinking he believed in monsters just yet. 'Can't help Sam and Dean if I'm in the loony bin…'
"Sorry about taking your time, miss, but do you know what happened over at the library? I hear it's a mess over there." He asked, hoping for a little hint.
"The library? No, I don't know anything about a mess…although, I'll tell you, that librarian is something else. Andrea Willis is her name, I think. I'd stay away from her if I were you." She stated, forgetting her unease and immediately slipping into 'gossip mode'. "I hear she worships the devil!"
Bobby tried to keep from rolling his eyes. Yeah, the devil. Sure. "Yes, ma'am, but what ab-"
"I also here she's into witchcraft and all kinds of black magic, oh, and yesterday I heard she went off with some young ruffian in a black jacket, and he hasn't been seen again." She said in a hushed tone, cutting Bobby off mid-sentence.
That got his attention.
"This fella' she was with…where'd they go to?" He asked, probably a little more excitedly than he should have. But hey, who cares? It was a possible lead, finally.
"Oh, I have no idea, but I hear tell that he hasn't been seen again since he set foot in her apartment complex, poor fella. I swear that place is haunted." She said, looking solemnly at her friend, who bobbed her brown head in agreement.
"And this apartment complex is where?" He asked.
"Jade Street. It's the only complex on that God forsaken piece of land, but I'll warn you, I've heard of some strange things happening in that place." She said gravely.
Finally, something to work with! Bobby could have kissed her on the spot...almost. Instead, he settled for a quick 'thank you', and taking his sandwich and coffee to go, he tossed the bartender a few bills and dashed out the door.
Ten minutes later, he was standing in front of the Jade Street Apartment Complex, and he was none too happy about what he saw.
First thing he noticed was the flashing lights of the tow truck, pulling away from the complex…with a midnight black 1967 Chevy Impala hooked to it. "Oh, Dean's gonna have a fit." Bobby muttered as he watched the truck leave. He would have to worry about getting their car out of jail later.
The second thing he noticed was that there were no other cars in the parking lot. Not one, and it was nearly noon on a weekend. Bobby walked towards the complex, taking in his surroundings as he walked. Something wasn't right about this place.
He opened the clear glass door and entered into a large lobby area. He noted that there was a stairwell next to the back entrance, a row of mailboxes, an elevator on the opposite wall and a desk to the left of the front entrance. He approached the desk, noting also that there was no clerk. He rung the small silver bell and waited. And waited. And waited. No one came. "Hello? Is there anyone here?" Bobby called. No answer.
Great.
He decided to try looking at the mailboxes for the librarian's name, but as he approached them, he looked through the small glass window in the rear entrance door…and nearly screamed.
Staring through the window right back at him was a single scarlet robed figure.
But that didn't really bother him all that much, he'd seen quacks in robes before. No, that wasn't the freaky part.
The freaky part was the fact that the thing appeared to be blind, but Bobby could feel it's gaze piercing straight through to his soul…
