Chapter 4
Lexi flopped over in the bed with a loud sigh, her eyes popping open again. As tired as she was it was frustrating to not be able to fall asleep, but she couldn't stop thinking about everything that had been going on. From the time she'd bumped into Sam back at the convenience store nothing that had happened seemed real. She was a Guardian, she believed it to be true with all the things she'd seen through Sam. But she didn't quite know what that really meant for her. All the things she used to laugh at in horror films were real; that she didn't quite believe yet. Angels and demons, heaven and hell...all real. Lexi shuddered against the images even thinking the word 'hell' brought to her mind.
She stared at the line of light coming in the room from under the door, the hallway lights still on, and focused on pushing the images out of the forefront of her thoughts. She startled as the warm yellow light began to shift, turning deeper in color, through orange and finally glowing red. A shiver ran up her spine as the blood pumping throughout her body seemed to turn to a sluggishly moving ice.
"Sam?" Lexi called as she slowly pushed the covers back, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. "Dean?"
She stood cautiously, her eyes glued to the band of red light in front of her. Slowly stepping forward, one bare foot in front of the other she made her way to the door. A high-pitched gasp forced up from her throat as a metallic clang echoed through the room from behind her. She spun around to see a large chain hanging from the ceiling on the other side of the bed. Dozens more dropped down in an instant, swaying and clanging into each other filling the room with the metallic sound, punctuated by a screeching that reminded her of playground swings as they pulled and ebbed against the weight of a child.
Lexi turned quickly, grasping the doorknob, turning and pulling in one smooth motion, only to find the door stuck in place. A wave of fear rushed through her as she slapped at the door, pulling on the knob with her other hand. Her breath came in short gasps, her heart pounding against her ribcage as panic took over. The clanging of the chains grew louder in her ears and she looked back into the room to see the same red light from the hallway had appeared in the bedroom, growing brighter as her panic took hold.
Beyond the clanging and squealing of the chains and the fear-laden gasps that emanated from her throat with each rapid breath Lexi began to make out a voice. It was distant, a word drawn out in a sing-song tone, repeated over and over.
"Leeeeeexiiiii…Leeexiiiiiiiiii…"
She turned back to the door, trying desperately one more time to open it, wanting nothing more than the comfort of another person at that moment. When it still wouldn't budge and the voice began to grow closer, louder against the incessant clanging, the panic finally took over, Lexi grasped her hands over her ears, slid down the door to the floor and let the scream in the pit of her stomach force its way up past her throat and lips.
"Nooooooooooooooooooooo!"
Lexi let go of her ears and let her eyes open part way and drew in a sharp breath when she saw the room around her dark except for the soft yellow glow from the hall lights under the door. She found herself tangled in her blankets, her shirt stuck to her back with sweat, her hands shaking uncontrollably. She blew out a breath through pursed lips, slowly, pushing the fear out with it.
"A dream," she whispered, drawing in another long slow breath. "It was just a dream."
Dean and Sam sat at the table in the kitchen, talking quietly while both picked at their bowls of chili. After Sam had told them why Lexi had bolted from the room, Cas had left, promising to return once she was up for another session of Sam-download. The brothers had been discussing how they would deal with the whole situation of having another person in their world while Lexi slept.
"Man she seems pretty bad ass, but I don't know," Dean said, lifting up a spoonful of now-cold chili then plopping it back the bowl. "I just don't know if any amount training is going to keep her safe. I mean, she's tiny...kinda like you were at twelve."
"Shut up." Sam rolled his eyes and slid his half-empty bowl off to the side of the table. "We still need to train her. Whether it keeps her completely safe or not, she'll be safer with training than without. We have to do what we can. And it's not like we have a choice here."
"I know, Sam. It just sucks." Dean leaned back, putting his hands on top of his head, elbows splayed out like wings. "This whole situation sucks, start to finish."
"It sucks not having a choice, I agree. But I don't know, man, I'm kind of growing to like her." Sam shrugged, glancing down at the table and scraping at a dried up bit of food with his fingernail.
"Oooooh...Sammy has the hots for his guardian, huh?" Dean teased, smirking. "Pretty kinky, little brother."
"Dean, come on…"
"Nooooooooooooooooooooo!" Lexi's scream echoed into the kitchen, sending both men instantly to their feet. They ran at full speed through the hallways until they reached Lexi's door. Both had their guns drawn and cocked as Sam pushed through the door and into the room, the light from the hall flowing in to reveal a curled-up, sweat-soaked and trembling Lexi on the bed. After a quick survey of the room revealed no threat, Sam dropped his gun on the dresser and headed for her, arms outstretched, only to stop himself with a frustrated sigh when he realized he couldn't go to her, couldn't comfort her. He glanced back at Dean helplessly and watched as his brother tucked his gun back in his waistband and went to the bed in his place.
"Lexi, what happened?" Sam asked as he kneeled beside the bed, tilting his head to try to get a look at her face. Dean placed an arm around her shoulders and she leaned in to him, desperately needing the comfort. One last violent shudder waved through her body before she looked up at Sam.
"It was a dream. Just a dream, I'm sorry." Lexi inhaled shakily and wiped at the streaks of tears that once again lined her face.
"Hey, it's okay. We've dealt with a lot of nightmares around here," Dean soothed, running his hand slowly across her back trying to calm the tremors he could still feel under the surface.
"What was it about?" Sam asked, although he was pretty certain he already knew the answer.
"I woke up," Lexi started, pausing to choke back a sob. "In here, and there was this red light. Chains came down from the ceiling and made this awful noise. And this voice…"
"It's okay, Lexi," Sam encouraged when he saw the trembling in her arms ramp up again, more tears threatening to overflow her eyes. "We're right here."
"The voice, it was just calling my name, but…" A fresh sob hiccuped out as Dean wrapped his arm around her shoulders again, pulling her tight against his side. "It was mocking and almost singing and...I swear it was evil."
Lexi broke down again, letting the tears and sobs come freely as Dean pulled her into a full-on hug, wrapping both arms around her. She turned in to the embrace, burying her face in Dean's chest and wrapping her arms around him, her hands grasping at the back of his shirt. Dean looked over her head at his brother, giving him a slight nod to let him know he understood what her dream was about, too.
Sam sat and watched, helpless, as his brother held her, whispering the soothing sounds he remembered so well from his childhood while she cried out all the terror from her shaking body. He watched, his heart breaking for her, as his brother rocked her ever so slightly until her sobs slowed to occasional hiccups, her trembling slowed to a barely perceptible shiver and she began to take in long, slow breaths. She finally pulled away from the strong arms that held her.
"I'm so sorry," Sam said when Lexi looked down at him while wiping her eyes, his own eyes filled with unshed tears. "That was hell."
Lexi's eyes grew wide as she registered Sam's words, then narrowed into confusion.
"But, he was saying my name. If it was your memory of hell, how could the voice know…"
"Because it was just a dream. Wasn't real, kiddo," Dean said, his arm still resting around her shoulders. He felt her relax again, realizing her own brain had been getting creative with Sam's memories. "And dude, you are soaked with sweat, that's gross!"
She let out a short giggle as Dean made a show of removing his arm and wiping it off.
"Well, we still didn't get me any clothes." Lexi tugged at the damp t-shirt, fanning it away from her skin. "I'm really going to be ripe now."
"Oh crap, hang on," Sam said as he jumped up and darted from the room. He returned a minute later with a t-shirt and a pair of drawstring gym shorts, tossing them on the bed next to Lexi. "You'll swim in them, but at least we can wash what you have. I promise we'll go out in the morning and get you some clothes."
"Thanks. Both of you." Lexi smiled at both of them as she picked up the huge clothes and stood to head to the bathroom to change. "Hey, I'm hungry...do you have any pie?"
"We should get Cas back here and finish the download thing," Lexi said, then put another forkful of apple pie in her mouth. Dean sat across from her at the kitchen table savoring his own mouthful of pie while Sam was pouring cups of coffee. "I really want to get it over with."
"It'll certainly make things easier once it's over with," Sam agreed as he set a mug in front of Lexi and his brother, then took a seat. "Dean, you want to call him?"
"M'eating pie!" Dean said, his mouth full. He glanced over at Sam to see the half-bitchface, half-puppy eyed look on his face. He rolled his eyes then swallowed. "Fine. Castiel...we're ready for more weirdness, come on down."
"Hello Dean, Sam, Lexi…" Cas's face contorted into a look of confusion when he saw Lexi sitting there in a t-shirt that seemed to barely stay on her shoulders. "What are you wearing?"
"Cas you know that's dirty question, right?" Dean grinned.
Sam and Lexi both turned a quick glare at Dean, who shrugged and returned to his pie.
"Sam's clothes," Lexi explained. "All mine are back in Maryland and we haven't gotten out to buy more yet."
"I can take you and Sam to your house so you can get your things," Cas offered nonchalantly.
"Wait, what?" Lexi's eyes grew wide, staring up at the angel. "You mean...fly?"
"Yes. But Sam would have to come, or you would just transport back here."
"You'll barely feel it," Sam added. "It's weird at first, but you'll get used to it."
"Like there's anything in my life that isn't weird right now." Lexi said with a light chuckle, then scooped her last bite of pie into her mouth, swallowing it down quickly. "So, can we do this?"
The four of them moved to the library, each taking their seats at one of the tables. They resumed their positions from earlier, Sam and Lexi with their arms stretched across the table, Cas reaching over to Lexi's forehead while Dean looked on. For the next half hour they worked at continuing to transfer Sam's life to Lexi in intervals of five minutes, the three men carefully watching Lexi for any signs of distress. The time passed incident free with the exception of a few soft whimpers as Lexi had to endure some of Sam's more serious injuries from past years. It was halfway through one of the five-minute intervals when Sam suddenly let out a yelp and ripped his hand away.
"Son of a bitch!" Sam said, shaking his hand vigorously.
"What happened?" Dean asked, half rising from his chair.
"A shock just went down my arm and out my hand." Sam rubbed at his right hand with his left, massaging his fingers. "That sucked."
"I would assume that's the end," Cas said. "Try touching each other and see what happens."
Sam reached his hand back across the table, locking eyes with Lexi. Cas kept his hand at the ready above her head watching carefully as their fingers met. A wide smile crossed Lexi's face as nothing happened.
"Well, holy crap...I'm glad that's over!" Lexi said, jumping up from the table and practically running around it to Sam. She leaned over and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. Sam let out a chuckle as he slid his arms around her returning the embrace.
"Me too," Sam said as he pulled his arms away. "How about we go get your things now?"
Sam and Lexi appeared, Cas between them with his hands on each of their shoulders, in the middle of Lexi's small living room. Lexi stumbled briefly forward but quickly regained her balance then looked around at the familiar surroundings.
"Okay yeah, that's definitely weird." Lexi shook her head briefly, regaining her bearings.
"You okay?" Sam asked with a smile.
"Yup, I'm good." Lexi headed toward the bedroom door across the room. "Make yourselves comfortable, I won't be long."
She pushed open the door to the bedroom flipping the light switch on the wall as she walked through. She went to the closet and pulled out a large gym bag and tossed it on the unmade bed. She turned to the dresser and opened a drawer, pulling out a pile of clothes. Turning back to the bed she stopped short as she glanced up to the wall by the window.
Leaning against the window, arms crossed, one foot crossed over the opposite leg, was a tall, blonde haired man watching Lexi with a nearly maniacal smirk.
"Who the hell are you?" Lexi yelled, dropping the pile of clothes and backing up toward the door. A second later Sam was behind her, grasping her shoulders and pushing her out of the room as he barged in, his gun held firmly in front of him, scanning the room.
"Lexi?" Sam said, surveying the room again as his gun lowered slightly. "There's no one here."
"What?" Lexi pushed her head past Sam's arm, remaining behind him, and looked over to the wall. "There...there was a man...right over there!"
Lexi backed out of the room again then sank down onto the couch running both shaking hands up through her hair, letting out a trembling breath.
Sam and Cas moved back to the living room, Sam sliding onto the coffee table in front of Lexi as he cast a concerned look up at Cas standing next to the couch.
"Lexi, what did he look like?" Sam asked.
"Umm...tall, short blonde hair," Lexi answered, voice shaking. "He was leaning against the wall just...smirking at me."
"What about his eyes?" Sam said, placing a comforting hand on Lexi's shoulder. "Did he have black eyes?"
"No," Lexi looked up at him, eyes brimming with tears. "Blue I think."
Sam shot another concerned look up at Cas before pulling out his phone and typing something into the web browser. He pulled up a photo, then turned the phone around to show Lexi.
"Was this him?" Sam asked. His veins filled with ice as he saw Lexi's eyes grow wide when she looked at the photo and nodded. Sam held the phone up to Cas and watched as his eyes, too, grew wide. "Lucifer."