Title: Death from Within
Author: Disasteriffic Kaz
Info: The Monster of the Week turns out to be more than the boys bargained for within an abandoned hotel in the Nevada desert. post 1x09 "Home" hurt/comfort/awesome!Sam/Dean
Author's Note: I thought I'd be done here but the boys and the creature had other ideas. LOL
Beta'd by the Always Awesome JaniceC678 - Friend and Muse's co-conspirator
**Follow me on Facebook as "Disasteriffic Kaz" for frequent fic updates or just to chat!
~Reviews are Love~
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Sam had to brace his sore left arm over his aching gut as they climbed and bit his lip to keep his breathing somewhat normal. In the unnatural stillness of the hotel, he'd have no chance of Dean not hearing how much difficulty he was having.
Dean lowered the weapons bag from his shoulder on the second floor landing and pulled out two machete sheathes. "Here."
Sam took his and unbuckled his belt, looping it quickly through. "At least we know bullets hurt it even if they don't kill it. I think we should…" Sam's voice was drowned out by a feminine scream echoing through the building. "Oh, God! Ellie?"
"She's still alive?" Dean asked in surprise. "Come on! That came from upstairs."
Sam's own discomfort was forgotten in the need to save this woman. He pounded after Dean to the next flight of stairs and urged his abused body to go faster. "Gotta find her, Dean."
"We will. We're not losing her now," Dean said grimly. The fact that she'd been alive for the last two days and now, apparently trapped in the hotel the entire time sent guilt to roil in his stomach. They could have saved her sooner if he'd just been paying better attention and not let his little brother get so hurt. "I'm not losing this one."
Chapter 6
Dean reached the top of the stairs on the third floor in a rush and shone his light quickly to either side. "Hello?" he called and looked back when he heard Sam behind him. Dean could hear his heavier than normal breathing and made himself put the concern away for now. He'd made the decision to have Sam with him and that meant trusting his brother when he said he could handle it. "You hear anything?"
Sam leaned heavily on the banister at the top of the stairs and listened. "No. Nothing. Ellie?" Sam shouted her name, wincing when it echoed through the empty hall. "Ellie, we're here to help you!" There was a muffled roar, and then Ellie's voice screamed out again through the halls. "Damn, that's upstairs." Sam headed for the next flight of stairs and rolled his eyes as Dean easily outpaced him and took the lead. His brother was obviously taking his order to 'stay behind me' seriously. He pushed himself to stay with Dean and wished he'd been able to find a blueprint for the hotel at the library or online. It might have made searching it or knowing where to look easier.
Dean slowed a step so Sam could catch up and then stopped just before the top of the stairs on the fourth floor. Rather than a hall like the floors below, there was a wide room with a vaulted ceiling ahead of them and three sets of double doors, one across from them and one to either side. The floor in the center of the room was buckled and precarious looking. The skylight directly above it was long since broken and empty of glass, leaving the elements to sneak in. Sand coated everything and had even blown in small drifts here and there.
"Dean." Sam nodded and pointed his flashlight. The tracks of small-footed shoes led from the stairs to the doors directly across from them. "Ellie."
Dean moved wide around the buckling portion of the floor for the far doors and waved at Sam to come with him. The ageing wood creaked and groaned beneath them as they passed and he could hear the sound of sand sifting through to a room somewhere below.
Sam moved closer to the wall, not trusting the floor, and could almost feel it readying to shift under him. He brought his gun up as Dean reached the door and took a few steps further out to have a clear shot into whatever room lay beyond.
"Ready," Dean whispered. He took hold of the handle and whipped the door open…or tried to. It caught on the warped floor boards beneath the sand and ground to a halt less than a foot open. "Dammit!" He moved and put all his weight into the door. Dean looked up as the beam of Sam's flashlight went over his head into the darkness. His eyes widened in surprise to find the nukelavee a scant six feet away and both sets of eyes - the man and the horse's - glared out at him. "Oh, crap." The sickening creature lunged for the open door. Dean let go of it and threw himself to the side as it crashed into the wood. He felt a sharp pain rake across his back as the thing's clawed hand slashed out at him, and then heard his brother shout his name as he rolled across the floor.
"DEAN!" Sam fired quickly into the beast when it burst through the door. He aimed for the head, but his initial shots did not seem to have much of an effect, although it did distract the creature from Dean, which was something. On the down side, it was now focused on him, and Sam sucked in a breath when it lunged across the open space and came for him. He emptied the clip into both its heads; trying to distract it. The horse's head dropped, but momentum brought the nukelavee to him. Sam backed away hurriedly and only too late realized his mistake when his foot caught on a buckled floorboard. He fell backward with the nukelavee's abnormally long arms reaching for him. Their combined weight was too much for the floor. He heard it crack and felt the second it gave way.
Dean pushed up from the floor and turned his head in time to watch in horror as his brother, his flashlight, and the creature dropped out of sight along with the crumbling roar of the floor collapsing. "SAM!" He sat up and then curled back over onto his knees with a strained grunt of pain as his back refused to cooperate and burned badly enough to make his stomach churn. "Crap. Move…dammit, move!"
"H…hello?" A trembling, female voice called out from behind the now smashed door.
Dean groaned and climbed unsteadily to his feet. He rescued his flashlight from the floor and, resisting the instinctive urge to immediately go check for Sam knowing there was an innocent victim nearby, moved to the entrance to the room, shining it in while he leaned heavily on the one door still standing. "Ellie?" he called and looked in surprise to find her standing unharmed on the other side of what looked like a pool.
"Yes! Oh, my God! Are you the police?" Ellie blinked in the beam from Dean's flashlight and neared the edge of the pool.
"Not…damn," Dean broke off and hunched over. "Not exactly. How are you still alive?"
Ellie rubbed a hand over her face and sniffed. "When that thing…when it…it took Matt…." She sucked in a labored breath and felt tears wetting her cheeks yet again. "When it took him, he told me to run, and I came up here and I didn't know where else to go. And then…then it came in here and…but it never came in to get me. I don't know why. It was like it didn't want to come across the water or something."
"Water." Dean nodded. That actually made a sort of sense. A lot of the older creatures from the same area of the world as the hydrus avoided running water. "Stay…stay there then, alright? We'll come back for you."
"You're leaving me?" Ellie's voice rose up to a frantic pitch. "No…no way." She ran to the shallow end of the pool and jumped in, wading across to the near side and climbed back out dripping. "I'm…I'm starving and thirsty, and I'm not staying another minute trapped in this room. I can't. I'm coming with you."
Dean shook his head and worked to straighten himself. "No. I have to…my brother's down there. He's hurt." He pointed to the hole in the floor praying desperately that "hurt" was still the operative word and not…he pushed the thought of the alternative aside. "Can't save him and you at the same time. Please."
"You're hurt. You need help." Ellie nodded firmly even as she shook in fear. "Matt…he'd want me to help you."
"Matt. Big guy. Bald head?" Dean asked and smiled in spite of everything when Ellie nodded and her eyes overflowed again. "He's alive. We found him downstairs and got him out yesterday."
"He's…" Ellie pushed her fist into her mouth to stop the sob of relief trying to force its way out, and then she steadied with a deep breath. "Now I'm definitely helping you. Come on."
Dean shook his head in admiration and moved cautiously to the edge of the hole. He shined his light down and followed it with his gun. "Sammy?" It was hard to see. Sand and dust floated in the air like a cloud, scattering the beam of light like fog, and Dean fought the growing sense of dread when he realized just how far the fall had been, the doctor's dire warnings about internal bleeding screaming in his mind. "Sam!" Dean bit his bottom lip when he heard a soft groan. "I'm coming down for you, buddy. You sit tight! Come on, then. Stay behind me."
Ellie nodded and stayed close at his back, barely restraining herself from taking hold of the back of his jacket just to make sure she didn't lose him. "Matt…you're sure he's alright?"
"He's alive," Dean said, unwilling to lie to her about his condition but not wanting to send her into a crying fit when she found out he'd lost an arm and likely a leg as well. He turned in surprise when another flashlight went on behind him.
Ellie smiled sadly. "My last batteries. I was pretty much freaking out in there about what I'd do once I was left in the dark for good."
Dean turned back and headed down the stairs. Only fear for his brother kept him moving while the wounds on his back screamed at him. It was hard to stay standing and he could feel the steady trickle of blood down his skin under his shirts. "You're pretty damn impressive, Ellie. Staying alive in here for two days on your own." He gave her the praise, hoping to bolster her confidence but inside his mind was stuck on a loop of 'save Sam, save Sam, save Sam' and he picked up his pace in spite of his pain, but he did have another nagging worry. "Ellie, you haven't been hurt have you? Any small holes anywhere? Stomach cramps?"
Ellie frowned behind him and shook her head. "No. Nothing like that."
Dean blew out a breath that he wouldn't have to cut another hydrus out of someone and then turned at the bottom of the stairs on the third floor. "I mean it. Stay behind me," he lowered his voice and started into the hall. "If that thing comes for you again, you shag ass…"
"Back upstairs and slowly starve to death next to the pool all alone?" Ellie said and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's gonna happen."
"Sam's gonna like you," Dean said softly and opened the first door he came to. It opened slowly, with barely a creak and he knew he was in the right place when his flashlight found the same cloud of dust he'd seen from above. "Sam?" he called softly and heard another answering moan from nearby. Dean listened hard but didn't hear anything other than his brother. He didn't like it one bit. It made him nervous. He eased into the room with Ellie sticking almost against his back and stumbled on debris from the floor above.
"Careful," Ellie whispered and caught his arm to steady him. She heard another soft moan off to their right and gave Dean's elbow a tug in that direction.
"I hear him." Dean turned and picked his way carefully over the broken floorboards and ceiling tiles. He nearly stepped on his brother's outstretched arm when he saw it with his flashlight. "Shit!" Dean dropped to his knees and crawled the few feet to his brother. "Sammy?" He put a hand to Sam's jaw and rolled his head toward him. He was coated in sand and dust, and Sam's face frowned slightly with the movement. "Hey, buddy. Come back now. Sam."
Ellie played her light around the room, trying to see through the dust for any sign of the creature and rubbed her arm when she couldn't find it. It made her nervous not knowing where it was. She knelt by the two men and watched Dean brushing dust from his brother's face to get a better look at him. "He doesn't look too good."
"He was already hurt," Dean said quietly and held Sam's face when he moaned again. "The creature got hold of him yesterday. He's gonna be ok, though." 'Has to be ok' Dean amended in his head silently. He leaned over Sam when his brother's eyes started to flutter. "Sammy? Wake up, buddy. No time for a nap."
Sam swam slowly back up from the black nothingness he'd fallen into and opened his eyes to his brother's concerned face lit by a flashlight. "Dean." His voice was hoarse and he coughed to clear his throat. The cough was a mistake as it pulled something painfully in his stomach and he tried to curl in on himself, but Dean's hands stopped him.
"No, Sam. Lay still for a sec." Dean waited until he settled and looked over at Ellie. "Found our girl."
Sam blinked and turned his head up. He smiled in spite of the considerable pain he was in when he saw her sitting beside him. "Hi." He was overcome with relief that they had actually found her alive and couldn't stop the stupid grin that creased his face.
Ellie smiled, falling just a little bit in love with the warm, blue-green eyes that looked so happily up at her and touched a hand to his hair. "Hi, Sam. I'm Ellie."
Dean smiled tensely and tugged his brother's shirt up. His smile faded when he saw blood spotting the bandage over Sam's stomach, an icy fear that had nothing to do with his own injuries spreading through him. "Damn. How bad do you hurt, Sam?" He pressed gently into his brother's left side and up to his ribs.
Sam gasped and was grateful when Ellie took hold of his hand and squeezed. He swallowed, closed his eyes and nodded. "Yeah…hurts. It's ok."
"No, it's not dammit." Dean sat back and looked down at him. "You know what the doc said, dude. This is so far from taking it easy, it's not even on the same continent. If one of those bruises tore…" Once again, he was torn between finishing the job and keeping his little brother alive. Sam could be bleeding out internally while he was sitting there watching and he wouldn't even know. And even if he did, he'd be helpless to do anything about it.
"No, it's ok." Sam put his other hand to Dean's shoulder and used it to pull himself up so he was sitting. He smiled back at Ellie when she pushed behind him and didn't mention that she had a hand pressing into what was no doubt going to be an impressive bruise from his fall. "Hurts, but…not like…not that bad. I'm good; just banged up. That sucked." He leaned forward into Dean's supporting arm and caught his breath. "Where is it?"
Dean shook his head. "No idea. Must be another door in here." He shined his flashlight around the room again now that the dust was settling and nodded when he found it, a door that had been smashed out across from them. "Got it. You stand?" He didn't have a choice. If Sam said he was good to keep going, they had to. The creature could come back for them at any moment and now they had a civilian in tow. "Help me get him up?"
Sam got to his feet between them and clasped a hand gently around Ellie's shoulder, getting a good look at her in the light from the flashlights. She was pale, her face drawn even as she smiled and the bags under her eyes had their own bags. "Are you alright?"
Tears welled up in Ellie's eyes at the heartfelt question and she nodded. "Tired and thirsty. I'll be fine now."
Sam smiled again with the unspoken end he could hear to that sentence; 'now that you're here'. "Dean? Bag?"
"Yeah. It's, uh…upstairs somewhere." He smiled sheepishly. "Kinda lost track of it when the knucklehead slammed me to the floor."
Sam's eyes opened wide and he grabbed his brother, turning him around. "Dammit," Sam breathed while Ellie held her light to Dean's back and he could see the rents in the back of his jacket and the blood saturating the fabric. "We have to go back up for the bag."
"No, Sam," Dean shook his head. "We're gonna…"
"Go back upstairs and get the bag and the holy water unless you've forgotten what happened to me the other night after that thing got its claws into me." Sam glared at his brother until Dean rolled his eyes and subsided.
"Fine," Dean said grudgingly. He pulled one of Sam's arms over his shoulders and started him moving with Ellie on the other side to steady his little brother. In truth, he was beginning to feel warmer than he should, and he knew it was the start of the nukelavee's poison working into him. Sam was right; if they didn't cleanse his wounds now, he'd be useless very soon. It was just hard to admit when all he wanted to do was finish the damn job and get Sam the hell out of there so he could check his condition more thoroughly.
"What happened?" Ellie asked and slid an arm around the back of Sam's waist when she felt him shivering.
"Its touch is poison, or something like it," Sam said for lack of a better explanation. "The wounds have to be cleansed with holy water. Ow," Sam groaned softly and hunched forward a little as they climbed over the debris to the door.
"Easy, Sammy." Dean soothed. As much as his back hurt, and it did, he was more concerned about Sam and whether or not he'd be rushing him to the clinic when they were done. Dean rolled his eyes and decided he would definitely be calling Dr. Simons when they were finished no matter what. He wasn't going to take a chance with Sam's life, not after that fall. It was a miracle he wasn't hurt worse.
"Think all that bruising inside the…the doc was talking about…starting to come up for sure." Sam swallowed and stood straighter in spite of the pain. "I think I hate snakes now."
Dean snorted as they stepped into the hall. "Join the club, Indiana." He would never forget having to pull a live and fighting snake from his brother's body. That little gem was going to give him sleepless nights, he was sure. "Just as long as they're still just bruises. I'm telling you, Sammy, you start feeling lightheaded – like lightheaded from blood loss – even a little, you tell me." Sam rolled his eyes, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "Yes, mom," but nodded his acknowledgement.
Ellie smiled while the brother's talked. It was heartwarming listening to them banter back and forth despite the gravity of the situation and it helped calm her. She shifted her grip on his arm when they reached the stairs and saw something move from the corner of her eye. Ellie stopped and gasped softly. "Guys," she said in a harsh whisper. She turned her head to the left and slowly brought her flashlight with her and it was like being stuck in a horror film when you know the monster is about to jump out. Her light shone along the stairs, then the wall, and she felt her blood turn to ice in her veins as the beam from the flashlight glistened along the skinless body of the creature so very close to them, and her breath stuttered to a halt in her chest. They were going to die.
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To Be Continued…
