STALKING HORSE
Chapter 4
Dean's not himself. Sam's worried. Poor Sam! What a good job Bobby's there ...
xxxxx
Sam hugged his shivering brother and weighed up his options; they were in the middle of nowhere, soaked and freezing. Even an ambulance wouldn't be able to get to them here, the Impala was parked - Sam's best guess - about five miles away; Dean had almost drowned - heck, he had drowned, and he wasn't walking anywhere anytime soon.
He leaned down to look at his brother, wiping Dean's pallid forehead to keep water from dripping in his eyes. Dean was clutching his chest, gasping for precious breath and muttering incoherently against Sam's shoulder; okay, thought Sam, you could add delirious to hypothermic and drowned. Just damned great!
That was before he thought about his own condition; his teeth were chattering so hard, he was afraid the tip of his tongue might disappear, and although he was better off than Dean, that would all change if he didn't get some warmth into his bones soon.
Sam knew he had only one option; he picked up his phone and dialled Bobby's number...
xxxxx
Sam hoisted Dean's limp weight into his arms and staggered across to the grotto in the rocky outcrop at the side of the clearing. There was enough room in there for the two of them and a small fire. The fissure which formed the grotto was high and Sam hoped it penetrated through the rocks somewhere to create a chimney.
He decanted Dean inside the small cavern, leaning him against the wall; "hey dude, I'm g-gonna make a fire for us" he continued, "I phoned B-Bobby and he's on his w-way, be with us in a few hours".
Dean grunted as a violent shiver racked his chilled body, "h-horse" he whispered.
"I g-gave it a shock an' sent it's ass 'way for a while!" reassured Sam, shivering so hard he could barely string two coherent words together. He began gathering deadfall as fast as his numb hands could manage. He knew that the kelpie would be back, and he hoped that it wouldn't be before Bobby got to them, but that if necessary the contents of the pouches that Bobby had made up for them would be enough to protect them while they waited.
Sam swore as his hands shook so violently as he tried to light the fire, he dropped the Zippo twice. Eventually the fire caught and he nurtured it until he was confident it wouldn't go out. He pulled off his soaked shirt and jeans with a struggle as they stretched and clung to his cold, wet body and knelt down before Dean. "c'mon dude, lets g-get these wet things off"
He worked Dean out of his soaked clothes stopping to examine the heavily bruised graze on his arm where the Kelpie had held him, then slid in behind him, pulling him in close, icy cold skin pressing against icy cold skin, hearts beating in unison. He rubbed shaking hands up and down Dean's arms, chest and stomach, as if trying to massage the heat from the little fire back into their frozen bodies.
They were both shivering violently; that was a good sign Sam told himself. What wasn't so good was Dean's uncharacteristic silence; no doubt a side effect of the hypothermia, but still Sam felt uneasy. His Dean radar had been beeping ever since he had stumbled into the grotto with his incoherent brother. He had seen Dean hypothermic before and something about this whole affair made him feel uncomfortable. Sam never thought he would hear himself wishing that Dean would come out with one of his smartass comments, but right now, he would give anything to be called a bitch again.
"H-h-horse" …
"He's gone" Sam whispered, stroking wet hair, "he's gone." he hugged Dean tightly and reached over, placing their water bottle near the fire to provide them with a warm drink, and pulling Dean's overshirt and his own jacket, the only dry items of clothing he could find, across them like a small blanket.
Dean coughed and squirmed back against Sam's chest.
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Sam's eyes snapped open when he heard the rustle of undergrowth.
He had lost track of time and had no idea how long they had been in their little bolt-hole. Dean was asleep, moaning and whispering miserably, slumped heavily against Sam's shoulder and the fire was little more than smoking embers.
Sam's heart pounded as he leaned sideways to look out across the clearing. Expecting to see a sinister faerie horse, he almost sobbed in relief when he saw the grizzled figure of Bobby striding towards them.
Bobby knelt down before the brothers, and looked at Sam with a concerned smile;
"So what friggin' mess have ya pair of idjits got yourselves into this time?"
Not waiting for an answer, he placed a hand on Dean's shoulder and sucked in a sharp breath.
"Crap - too cold!" he snorted.
"Dean g-got into trouble in the lake and almost drowned - I h-had to go in after him" Sam whispered, drowsily.
Dean stirred at the sound of Sam's voice, "hmmmm ... h-horse?" he murmured.
Bobby unfolded a blanket he had under his arm and wrapped it tightly round the brothers, then produced a flask from his rucksack and poured steaming brown liquid into the cup. He lifted the cup to Sam's lips, and watched with a smile as Sam drunk the coffee greedily.
He refilled the cup, and rubbed Dean's forehead watching the heavy green eyes open slowly. "C'mon princess, ya need a drink!"
"horse ... ?" croaked Dean
"Nah, just me!" muttered Bobby
Dean drank clumsily as Bobby supported his head.
"Right, boys", Bobby stood up with a grunt, "as I'm an employee of the forestry authorities today", he gave them a knowing wink, "my truck is parked up a maintenance track about two hundred yards over in that direction". He gestured towards the west.
He looked at Sam, "can you walk, boy?"
"I think so," Sam responded, "I'm not sure about Dean though".
"If ya can walk, I reckon together, we can manage to carry him to the truck"
xxxxx
Bobby's truck pulled up outside the Mountainside Motel, he climbed out and let himself into their room, cranking the heating up to max before returning to the truck and helping the shivering Winchesters one by one out of the cab and into the room.
"Right", he stood in front of the huddled figures, "you two - warm shower, hot soup then bed".
Sam nodded, and turned to Dean. Dean was staring into his lap, barely acknowledging the existence of Sam and Bobby; a look of utter emptiness in his eyes. Bobby and Sam exchanged glances.
Bobby heated soup as the brothers took a warm shower, and presented them with the steaming bowls as they emerged from the bathroom. Sam took the bowl and, sitting on the edge of the bed, began to eat as if he didn't know where his next meal was coming from.
Dean sat next to his brother and stared unenthusiastically at the bowl offered by Bobby.
"Not hungry" he whispered.
Bobby planted the bowl into Dean's hands, "I don't care, boy; ya gotta eat to warm yourself up, so get it down ya unless you want me to pinch ya nose an' force it down ya neck!"
Dean took the spoon and took a few tentative sips of the soup. His face registered neither approval or dislike, just blankness.
Sam watched his brother eat, a heavy knot of apprehension tightening in his chest.
Bobby cleared the bowls away and pulled back the covers gesturing for both brothers to climb into the bed they were sitting on. "You two are sharing a bed tonight - get some body heat transferring between you.
The brothers obediently climbed into the bed, allowing Bobby to tuck the covers over them. "wanna story?" he grinned.
Sam smiled back, "bite me!"
He shuffled up so that Dean's back was pressed tightly against his chest. Snaking an arm over his brother's side, he pulled him in tighter, relishing the smell of his newly washed hair and the heavy beat of his heart.
His heart sank when there was no reciprocation from Dean who simply lay, seemingly oblivious to Sam's presence, whispering absently to himself.
Sam relished the warmth seeping back into his bones; he listened to Bobby's snores from the other bed, and watched the mesmerising rise and fall of his brother's chest. The softness of the pillow and the heavy drag of sleep on his eyes should have had him drifting off in complete contentment. Instead, that knot of apprehension was still there, tightening and tightening all the time, and Sam didn't know why.
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Sam was woken the following morning by the smell of coffee. He climbed out of the bed and joined Bobby at the table.
The two men sat in silence, glancing occasionally to the softly snoring lump in that remained in the brothers' bed. Eventually Bobby broke the silence.
He leaned towards Sam, and spoke barely above a whisper so as not to wake Dean. "Ya wanna tell me what happened at the lake yesterday?"
Sam put his coffee cup down and nodded.
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Bobby's eyes widened in horror as Sam explained how Dean had fallen under the Kelpie's spell, and how he had almost drowned. He told Bobby about the wrought iron rod repelling the Kelpie enabling Sam to drag Dean away.
Sam stopped to take a sip of coffee.
Bobby stared at Sam. "Have you noticed how he hasn't seemed quite 'right' since then?" he asked.
Sam put his coffee cup down. "What're you sayin' Bobby?"
Bobby sighed, "Have you heard the stories about people strayin' into the faerie world, an' tastin' faerie food or wine, then wastin' away because they never want to eat anything' else?"
Sam shrugged, "vaguely," he muttered, "to be honest, we don't get involved with faeries much; don' know that much about them?"
Bobby's expression was verging on panic, "Bobby, what are you saying?"
"Sam," Bobby grasped Sam's wrist, "Your brother is still under that thing's spell".
Sam stared at Bobby.
"As long as that scaly sonofabitch is alive he's gonna pine for it; waste away with longing".
Sam's blood ran cold.
"Sam, that thing will kill him as surely as if it had drowned him yesterday. He'll just fade away and die of a broken heart."
xxxxx
tbc