STALKING HORSE
Chapter 5
The full extent of the Kelpie's malign influence becomes clear ...
xxxxx
Sam's breath caught in his throat. "It all makes sense," he whispered.
Bobby looked at him quizzically.
"Horse," said Sam, "ever since I got him out of the lake, practically the only word he's said has been 'horse'", he scraped a hand through his hair, "I thought he was saying it because he was frightened it would come back - but he's saying it because he's frightened he won't see it again."
Bobby nodded.
"We've got to kill this thing," Sam blurted, loudly enough to cause his sleeping brother to shift in the bed.
"There's something else you ought to know", whispered Bobby.
Sam stared at him, wiping his tearing eyes.
"He won't just sit back and wait for it to come to him; he's gonna try and get back to it", Bobby continued, "We can try to keep him on lockdown, but your brother is a regular Houdini at the best of times".
"He'll stop at nothing to find it again. And I mean - nothing". The hidden meaning of that phrase wasn't lost on Sam.
xxxxx
They both turned as they heard a hoarse groan; Dean was sitting up in the bed.
Sam's face softened, along with his voice, "Hey, bro' how ya doin'?"
Dean stared at him as if he didn't understand the question; he rubbed his chest and gave a hollow cough.
"Coffee?" prompted Sam, hopefully.
Dean shook his head absently, his gaze never quite meeting Sam's.
xxxxx
Sam and Bobby took the opportunity while Dean was in the bathroom to discuss their options;
"If we head over to the lake to finish this thing off, what do we do with Dean?" Bobby speculated, "we can't take him, he'd be a liability - to us and to himself".
Sam thought aloud, "cuff him in the room?"
"Nah, we might be gone hours, even overnight", Bobby continued, "we can't leave him tied up with no food or drink."
"What about sleeping tablets?" Sam suggested, "we can take him with us, so we can keep an eye on him, but keep him drugged up?"
Bobby scratched his head under his hat and sighed heavily, "I don't know, son," he took a long sip on his coffee, "I don't know what to think".
Sam put his coffee cup down abruptly. "I know what I think"; a note of alarm sharpening his voice, "I think he's been a heck of a long time in there". They both stared at the bathroom door, then turned to each other.
Sam tapped on the door, "You ok in there, Dean?" No response was forthcoming. "Dean, answer me or I'm coming in."
Still silence.
"Right, I hope you're decent - I'm coming in."
He tried the handle, but the door was locked; he turned to Bobby whose face was pale with dread.
Stepping back, he lunged, shoulder-first towards the door, tearing it from it's hinges with a hollow, untidy crash. Stumbling over the wreckage into the bathroom, he scanned the room through drifting dust, pulling back the shower curtain. The room was empty.
His eyes fixed on the window which hung open, it's hinges unscrewed. An upturned waste basket stood on the floor beneath it; a makeshift step up to the window.
Sam and Bobby stared, mute with horror.
"Where the hell is he?" croaked Sam, tears of panic and anger welling in his eyes.
"I dunno", replied Bobby, "but I know where he's damn well' going." He sighed; "I guess that's our decision made for us then …"
xxxxx
Bobby and Sam slammed the door to the room behind them. "We'll take my truck," Bobby shouted to Sam, noticing that the Impala was still parked where the Winchesters had left it before the whole nightmare started. "It's still got my Forestry Authorities badge and all my gear in it".
"Got the harness and the repelling charms?" he yelled as he climbed in the drivers side.
Sam slid into the passenger side and noticed a stack of wrought iron rods laying across the back of the cab. He turned to Bobby and his eyes asked the question.
Bobby stared at him, "well, let's just say the park authorities back home are probably wondering where their gate is right now!" He shrugged apologetically, and Sam managed a ghost of a smile.
xxxxx
The truck screeched to a dusty halt on the maintenance track where it had picked up two damp, shivering Winchesters less than 24 hours before. Sam tumbled, rather than climbed out of the cab and dashed towards the clearing, with Bobby following, surprisingly fleet of foot for an older man.
When they reached the clearing, it was deserted; no sign of any life; faerie, Winchester or otherwise.
"What do we do now?" asked Sam.
"You tell me, boy", Bobby panted, "we wait and see what happens."
xxxxx
The hours passed, Sam and Bobby sat on the edge of the lake close to the clearing. Bobby stared sympathetically at the agitated younger man.
"Will ya sit still, boy, ya look like ya got the DT's"
"Where is he, Bobby?" Sam pleaded, "Why isn't he here?" He stood up abruptly, "We should be out looking for him, not sittin' here like a pair of useless lumps."
Bobby pulled him down by the hem of his shirt, "sit y'ass down" he scolded, "I don' know where he is; the same as I didn't know where he was las' time ya asked ten minutes ago". He laid a hand tenderly on Sam's back, he knew the younger Winchester was perilously close to the edge. "We hafta stay here. If we go off looking for him, he's gonna turn up here and no-ones's gonna be here to pull his ass out of that lake!"
Sam looked at Bobby. He knew the older man was talking sense and nodded slowly, chewing his lip to hold back the tears.
Dusk had begun to fall and the sky around the lake had taken on a pink tinge as the shadows began to lengthen. Sam shivered and pulled his shirt collar up around his neck.
"I'm goin' to the truck to get my jacket", he muttered, "d'y need anything?" He turned to look at Bobby when no response was forthcoming.
Bobby was staring out over the lake; Sam's eyes followed his gaze.
The Kelpie's liquid eyes stared back at them.
xxxxx
It stood in the lake in about the same spot where the brothers had seen it before, it's sublime gaze fixed on Sam and Bobby, the hazy, pink tinge of the sky colouring it's iron grey flanks to a softer, dove-grey; the constant trickle of water from it's flaxen mane foaming the water around it's legs. Sam's hand reflexively shot to his breast pocket and he felt the little pouch that would protect him from it's influence.
"What do we do now?" he whispered to Bobby; Bobby spoke without taking his eyes off the Kelpie, "I've got no friggin' idea!"
Sam twitched as he heard a snap of a twig behind him, and turned abruptly to see Dean standing behind them, the now familiar look of utter blankness on his face. Sam reflected sadly; that was Dean's face, but that wasn't Dean behind it.
"Oh, thank God, dude", he sighed, "we were worried sick."
He moved to hug his brother, but Dean stepped around him without even acknowledging him, staring unblinkingly at the Kelpie, a gentle smile playing on his lips, as he walked slowly towards the waters edge.
Bobby's head spun around between staring at Dean and staring at the Kelpie as it stood in the lake. It pawed at the lake's bed, and gave a soft snort.
"It's calling to him!" Bobby shouted, "ya gotta stop him …"
"Dean!" Sam called, running after his brother, "come back dude, lets talk about this." Dean carried on walking, entering the water once he had reached the edge of the lake.
"DEAN!" Sam raced after his brother, and grabbed him round the middle, dragging him bodily out of the water; "Dude, you gotta snap out of it!" his voice was muffled against his brother's hair.
Dean struggled in his brother's strong arms, his struggles violent enough to cause them both to overbalance in the shallow waters at the lakes edge. As they tumbled down, Sam caught sight of his brother's face glaring across at him; it was twisted in hatred and Sam's heart froze when he saw it.
Dean managed to shake off Sam's grip and began crawling forward into deeper water, Sam staggered after him, and grabbed him under the arms, pulling him back toward the bank, Dean screamed; a raw, inhuman howl of anger; writhing and twisting furiously in his brother's arms. An elbow caught Sam in the jaw and loosened his grip enough to allow Dean to slip free.
Bobby watched with horror and began to wade clumsily toward the brothers.
Sam reached out, clutching Dean's shoulder and pulled him back into a body hug, but Dean twisted before Sam could complete the manoeuvre and landed a vicious head-butt straight into Sam's face. Scarlet droplets peppered the icy water as Sam staggered backwards clutching his fractured nose. Bobby tried to grasp Dean's arm, but received an elbow in the throat for his trouble, staggering backwards, Bobby ended up on his ass at the lake's edge.
Striding towards Sam, Dean threw a violent punch, this time hitting Sam square in the bread basket. Sam doubled over with a hoarse grunt, dropping to his knees; still groping frantically through the a haze of blood and tears to grasp his brother's flailing arms.
The Kelpie simply stood silent and aloof watching the altercation with gently detached interest, it's flaxen lashes fluttered slowly in a lazy blink.
"P-please …" Sam sobbed, trying to reach the brother he knew was there within that mindless shell.
"Plea…" Dean grabbed his throat harshly and forced him down, and down … pushing his head under the frigid water.
Bobby watched in horror as Sam's body thrashed and convulsed as Dean held him with unnatural strength, his face a mask of placid disinterest.
Sam felt his lungs constrict as the freezing water burned his skin. Clawing at his throat and fighting with all his waning strength to lift his head, his hot tears mingled with the icy water - his life was slipping away and it was by the hand of the brother he adored that it would end; that knowledge was more than he could bear.
Suddenly he felt the grip loosen, and a heavy weight splash limply into the water beside him. He scrambled up out of the water retching and gasping wetly for air, and saw the unconscious body of his brother laying in the water at his feet ...
Bobby stood over him holding a wrought iron rod in the manner of a baseball bat.
"I-I didn't know what else to do …" he gasped.
Xxxxx
tbc