Disclaimer: no means no.
A/N: I got a few A/N toady so before anything I'd like to apologize for that, haha…
Firstly I'd like to do a quick apology for the delay… I'll get into reasons for that in a few minutes.
Secondly a little interesting thing that I figured out which might be of interest to you. I went through all of my stats and I wanted to let y'all know what my most popular ones are by reviews and views just in case you want a suggestion of what to read next:
Most reviewed story: story 8- No Good, Terrible, Really Bad Day (18 reviews)
Most viewed story: Well, story number 1 has almost 30'000 views… and then it goes pretty much chronologically after that… but synching up with reviews… story 5- Little Hands wins… coming in 4th for views (not including story number 1), and 2nd for reviews.
Thirdly is some bad news. Like honestly bad news, so brace yourselves? I can't believe the time has come that I am saying this… but One For You is coming to an end. I know I said that I wanted to write on this until I hit 1000 reviews, but I can't. It is going to be going to just 115 stories. So after this one, there will only be 3 more stories. For the very simple reason that I am sick right now (I've eluded to this a bit in past A/N), and it is very difficult for me to write now—especially coherently, haha! I cannot write very good stories right now, and when I do try and write it takes me a long time and I'm not pleased with the results. So I don't want to put out subpar things for people to read. So I am just going to put out a few more stories and close this massive legend and who knows… maybe one day it will eventually reach 1000 reviews (how cool would that be?!). So enjoy these new ones while you can. I do have a surprise coming out for you… so watch my profile coming up.
And lastly (again, I'm sorry this is so long of an A/N!)… this story… is a 100% dedication, finally to my 800th reviewer talknerdy2meh, aka Emily—thank you so much for your support, and I'm really sorry this took me a while. She gave me a bit of a stipulation for her character which is always fun… she asked me to make her both good and bad… having her screw up a bit but in the end turns out to be good. So I took the idea and ran with it… and of course put a Beautiful Ally twist on it. Thanks Emily! Well everyone… read and review!
Title: Ashes to Ashes
Genre: Supernatural and suspense and angst
Summary: Sam goes missing while on a case and it's up to Dean to get a less than cooperate person's help to find him and save him before it's too late.
Ashes to Ashes
Emily felt the tacky blood that seeped down from the wound on her forehead, and forced the bile down from her throat. If she got sick now, she'd definitely be in trouble.
"Hey!" Dean's voice did nothing to help the pounding in her head, "Did you hear me?"
"What? No," Emily stood to get up from her prone position on the ground.
Dean cocked the gun he held in his hand at her, "You're not going anywhere lady."
Sudden anger washed through Emily, "Since when can you tell me what the hell to do?"
"Since I asked you where Sam was and you told me 'that thing took him'."
Half an hour earlier…
"Rock… paper… scissors!" Sam mimed the actions he spoke, his brother doing the same.
"Best three out of five!" Dean cried.
Sam grinned, "You can't just keep going until you win… which I just did big brother. Which means you get inside the cabin and I get to go outside."
Dean stared at the dark, dilapidated cabin they stood in front of, "Really?"
Sam clapped Dean on the shoulder, "Really."
"Fine, but I swear the first freaking thing that jumps out at me I'm sending after you then waiting in the car," Dean clicked on his flashlight and frowned as he carefully pushed in the door with his boot.
Sam laughed and shook his head as he aimed his flashlight towards the grown-in yard around the cabin. The hunt was supposed to be a milk run as Dean had said. An urban legend surrounding a cabin a mile into the Oklahoma woods where a gruesome murder occurred ten years earlier. Kids on dares would hike into the cabin at night time and spend fifteen minutes alone in the cabin; at which time they'd claim to see the apparition of a young woman. Nobody had been killed or injured as all had run away in fear so the Winchester's figured it to be a restless spirit.
"Alright, let's figure out what the hell is going on," Sam held his shotgun in his hand and flicked on the flashlight he'd mounted on the top of it.
Slowly he walked around the cabin, taking in all the trees and overgrown brush of the cabin. He'd made it only partway around the cabin when he heard a woman's scream; grabbing his attention to the darkened forest. Instinctually he looked quickly towards the cabin, contemplating whether to call his brother for help, but deciding there wasn't enough time. Stumbling in the unknown territory, Sam ran towards the continued cries of terror, his guard up and his gun drawn.
"Hey!" Sam finally called out as he made it to a small clearing and saw a man holding a woman partially up by her hair with a knife to her throat, "You better let her go in two seconds or—"
"Or what?" the man grinned, and flickered like an old television struggling to get reception.
Sam felt his insides go cold, "Crap."
"Help me, please!" the brunette sobbed.
"Quiet Emily, you know this song and dance," the man gripped tighter on her hair and turned back to Sam, "What 'cha got there buddy? Rock salt? Try it… I bet I can move faster than you."
He flickered again and Sam's brain raced with what he should do, wishing he had decided to call Dean. Deciding maybe being docile would help, Sam slowly lowered his gun and kept his flashlight shinned only on the situation. Keeping a prone hand up, the hunter took a cautious step forwards.
"Just… let's just talk about this," Sam felt his heart beating fast, "What's your name?"
"Charlie," the man wore ratty clothes and spirit be damned, Sam could swear he smelled a mixture of cigarette smoke and alcohol, "And now is when you slowly creep closer hope'n I won't notice."
Sam stopped.
"Please," Emily whimpered.
"I said shut it bitch!" Charlie sighed, "Can you believe her?"
"C'mon," Sam slowly moved his hand down and to his back where he knew he had an iron bladed knife, "Let's just talk this out."
"No."
Just as quickly as the situation arose it seemed to end as Charlie disappeared and Emily dropped to the ground in a heap. Sam stood stunned for a moment in the quiet night as he looked around before realizing that the spirit of Charlie was gone.
"Hey… hey!" Sam rushed over to Emily, "Are you okay? Are you alright?"
Emily let out a stuttered sob as Sam crouched in front of her, "N-No…"
"He's gone right now," Sam tried to reassure as he helped her to her feet, "My brother, he's back at the cabin. He and I will take you somewhere safe."
"You can't," Emily shook her head, trembling.
Sam frowned, "Why?"
"Because," Emily whispered, "It's not over."
Before Sam could question further he felt, briefly, a white hot pain in his head before falling to the soft forest ground. Through blurred vision he saw Emily get the tail-end of Charlie's shovel swing and as well get knocked to the ground. The youngest Winchester's world went black as he felt himself be pulled away into a fate left up to a killer.
...
"Sam!" Dean swung his head around in the darkness, "Sammy!"
He'd heard the screaming minutes earlier, or at least thought he had, though by the time Dean had made it outside his brother was nowhere in sight. Sam wasn't answering his phone or his calling into the darkness, and though normally this wasn't any reason for concern, the small pit forming in Dean's stomach wouldn't go away.
"Damn it Sam, answer me!" Dean called out.
Again there was no answer, and so with gun and flashlight in hand, Dean searched around the cabin. At last he saw his first sign of where his brother had been in the form of footprints, and Dean felt the cold pit deepen when he saw them lead into the forested area.
"No," Dean whispered out.
He moved slowly, though kept his eyes peeled for any sign of disturbances, and was just about to turn around and search a different direction when a flash of white caught his attention in the beam of his light.
"Hey!" Dean called out jogging the distance.
Once there he saw the brunette half-conscious laying on the ground with blood seeping out of her forehead. He bent down to her level and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey… what happened?"
Emily blinked hard, "What?"
Dean looked around at the scene and saw Sam's gun laying on the ground nearby. With a flurry of worry and anger, Dean leaped over, picked it up and noticed the blood and drag marks that covered the ground.
"What the hell happened to my brother!?" Dean demanded waving the gun accusingly.
"That… that thing took him," Emily swallowed the dry taste in her mouth as she felt her head.
"What do you mean that thing?" Dean stared down at her wide eyed, "What the hell happened here? What happened to Sam?"
There was a long pause.
"Hey!" Dean didn't even try to hide the anger now, "Did you hear me?"
"What? No," Emily shook her head as she began to get up.
Dean cocked his gun, "You're not going anywhere lady."
Emily frowned, "Since when can you tell me what the hell to do?"
"Since I asked you where Sam was and you told me 'that thing took him'," Dean didn't lower his gun.
"And I was telling the truth!" Emily again felt the blood, "That's what Charlie does. He… he takes me. He hits me with the shovel and takes me. But your brother got in the way."
"Alright listen to me," Dean was breathing deep and felt his himself feeling dizzy with the rush of adrenaline, "I don't have time to go through this all with you right now. But…" he swallowed and closed his eyes briefly, "You're a spirit Emily."
"W-What?"
"A revenant," Dean spoke quickly, "My brother and I came here to find you and help you because you have been repeating this," Dean waved around the forest, "Your death, for the past ten years."
"No," Emily whispered.
"Yes," Dean nodded, "You are a freaking spirit that lures people to the same fate that happened to you. You just don't realize it because every day you're reset like a new clock."
"I… no…" Emily again felt the blood oozing from her head, "Charlie and I came out here today, and your brother…"
"I don't have time to convince you of this," Dean was getting frustrated with the situation and swung his bag off his shoulder pulling a piece of paper out, "According to this you were killed in a fire at sunrise at a cabin. Now it obviously wasn't this one. Sam and I were trying to find to you so that we can take you back there and make you realize that-"
"Wait, wait, just hold up!" Emily cried out, "You… you're telling me that I'm… dead?"
Dean swallowed hard, "Which is exactly what my brother is going to be if we can't figure out where the hell your husband murdered you."
...
Dean was panting hard as he looked around at his surroundings. He felt as if he had been walking in circles for hours, and wouldn't have been surprised if he found out it was true. Emily continued to walk with him, and was for the most part quiet; Dean didn't care though—after denying for a half hour the truth, she seemed to have fallen into a silence. All Dean knew was that the longer they took, the worse Sam's chances of survival were.
"C'mon, you gotta know where he took you," Dean finally looked desperately at Emily.
"I wasn't conscious," Emily shook her head, "At least not for most of it. I remember the cabin. And waking up through some of the way. I'm sorry. This is all just…. are you sure?"
"No," Dean spoke sarcastically, "I just like taking middle of the night strolls through the fricken Oklahoma woods with my brother missing!"
"Well don't blame!" Emily barked, "Charlie can be more than a bit persuasive."
"You're telling me," Dean stepped over a large log, his light shining through the tall cedars, "The man died after a liquid super put him into a ditch."
Emily stopped walking and it took Dean nearly ten seconds before he noticed and turned around.
"Charlie's dead?"
Dean nodded and felt a brief flutter of sympathy at the look on her face, "About eight months after you."
"You're telling the truth about all of this," Emily spoke, looking at her surroundings, "All of this… happened before. He did this to me."
"I told you," Dean stepped back to her, "Sam and I are trying to help you. You need to… I don't know… pass over or something. You need to realize what is happening to you and make this stop. You need to break the cycle with this asshat before someone else gets killed. Before my brother gets killed."
Emily nodded as she stared at the silent, coniferous forest, "I remember. He was… so angry. So drunk and just… evil. He told me that he was going to make me pay for what I did. That I'd never see the light of day again."
"Where," Dean's eyes were wide, "Where did he take you?
Emily stayed silent as she felt her whole body shake.
"Where?!" Dean cried out, "Please, you have to remember where he took you."
Emily felt her heart pounding furiously in her chest as she looked around the forested area, "I…I don't know…"
"C'mon!" Dean felt a painful lump in his throat; time was running out, "Please… he's my brother."
Emily squeezed her eyes shut.
"C'mon bitch! You want to hang out with him? You think he's better than me? He ain't never gonna find you after I'm done!"
Her hair was nearly ripped from her scalp as he dragged her through the brush, stumbling over large branches and rocks.
"There," Emily whispered opening her eyes and pointing through the trees, "He took me through there."
Without word Dean ran in the direction she'd pointed. The sun was beginning to pull up from the horizon, but the inside of the woods remained dark as Dean's flashlight bounced off the tall trees. He knew it had been a long time; too long. Emily had been killed before sunrise, and if Dean didn't get to Sam on time, then the same thing would be repeated with him.
"There! Smell it?!" Emily suddenly spoke up, causing Dean to halt in his tracks.
"No… no, no, no…" Dean slowly shook his head as he realized what she spoke of.
The thick smell of burning wood wafted through the forest as Dean ran as fast as he could until a stich formed painfully in his side; horrible images flashing in his head of what he'd find. The closer he got, the more he could smell the smoke, and after ten minutes an orange glow encased the sky around the trees.
"Sammy!" Dean screamed as he halted to a stop outside the completely engulfed cabin.
The entire place ablaze, Dean froze, his breath catching in his throat—there was no way Sam was still alive in there!
"Sam… no…" Dean felt weak at the knees and turned to look at Emily, "What happened to-"
He stopped in mid-sentence when he realized she wasn't near him.
"Emily?" Dean's hoarse voice cracked and he could feel the heat radiating onto him from the fire.
But Emily was gone.
For an earth shattering fifteen seconds Dean heard nothing. He was desperately alone, and several times he contemplated charging into the house, but the heat prevented him from getting close enough. Silent tears marked their way down Dean's rough and dirty face, and his whole body trembled. Just as he was about to convince himself to do anything, Dean heard the smash of glass and a large bang.
"What the—" Dean's head swung around but he saw nothing.
First reaction was that it was simply the pressure from the fire bursting out some old windows or doors, but instinct told the Winchester to go to the other side of the cabin where the flames hadn't reached as high and intense. With a cautionary gun in hand, Dean rounded the side of the flaming building, and felt his breath catch in his throat as he saw a body lying on the ground outside of a broken door.
"Sam?" Dean's heart pounded in his chest, "God… Sammy!"
The form stirred, pushing itself away from the heat, and Dean saw the glorious face of his brother as Sam looked wearily up.
"Sammy!" Dean cried quickly shoving his gun away and running the distance.
"Dean," Sam smiled exhausted as he breathed deep trying to keep himself propped up.
Dean skidded to a stop by his brother, feeling the flames rip closer and larger, "Sam? Hey, hey… c'mon man…"
Quickly, and with adrenaline pounding through every vein in his body, Dean grabbed his brother from under the armpits and hulled him to his feet. Immediate dead weight was put onto Dean's shoulders as Sam struggled to stay upright, but Dean disregarded this and desperately pulled Sam far enough away from the cabin that he knew the two of them would be momentarily safe.
"Sam? Sammy talk to me," Dean spoke as gently as possible, trying to keep the panic from his voice as he lowered Sam to the ground.
"Emily," Sam got out before coughing loudly, wincing in pain, "Emily was there…"
Dean looked back at the cabin and knew instantly what happened.
"Oh God, little brother," Dean squeezed his eyes shut as he pulled Sam close in an embrace, "This was too close dude."
Sam weakly patted his back before moving back to cough again and speak, "You're telling me. Next time I'm staying in the car."
Dean laughed, "I'm right there with you." Continuing to hold Sam close, Dean looked at his face, "Are you alright?"
Sam stared at the flaming cabin, "I'll live."
"Damn straight you will," Dean's voice caught in his throat, "Think you can stand up?"
"Yep," Sam nodded as he moved away from his brother a bit, "Help me."
Dean stood to his feet and helped Sam with a firm 'Go easy'. Once on relatively stable feet Sam looked at the engulfed cabin and breathed deep. He remembered being tied up inside, and feeling the heat and breathing the thick toxic smoke. He'd known that Dean wouldn't be able to save him and that it was too late, however just as he was about to give up completely he'd suddenly seen Emily appear in the room. She freed him from his constraints, and with a smash broke the door to outside; Sam had moved as quick as possible before collapsing onto the cool earth outside.
"So-" Sam swallowed, "So that's it you think? I mean she remembers now what really happened."
Dean nodded, "Yeah, I'd say so. We just gotta burn Charlie's bones—we can worry about that tomorrow though."
"You think she's okay?" Sam frowned then let out a cough.
"I'd like to think so," Dean rubbed Sam's back as he let out another gag, "You on the other hand Sam. I think we should get you checked out."
"I'm fine," Sam shook his head.
"I'll be the judge of that, c'mon," Dean hooked one of Sam's arms over his shoulder and began to walk away from the area.
Sam hobbled along his brother's side, feeling the aches and pains radiating through his body. He knew it would be several days before he'd be able to move without wincing, and knew he'd be arguing with Dean for several hours that he didn't need to see a doctor. But in the big picture that didn't matter; he was alive and well all because of a spirit; something the hunters usually were fighting against. Sam wondered briefly as the brothers walked through the forest with the early morning sun peeking through, how many spirits were actually out there fighting alongside them.
Then frowned as he realized there was now one less.
The End.