I do apologize, break has caused me to lose track of days.

There aren't really any triggers for this chapter other than drugs which at this point, just assume every chapter's gonna relate to drugs somehow.

Please enjoy!

~TH~

It had been three days since the sacrifice and Dean had never felt better.

If he had known that a little blood could make his life so much better he would have gladly given it years ago.

And these little pills were magic. Absolute magic.

Vivian was gone too. Dean had asked Mr. Whiteman about her and was only told that she had left the group. He couldn't say that he was upset about it. She freaked him out.

Overall, there really wasn't much to do. Originally he thought he'd be bored, but it was kind of nice only chipping in with minor chores. And the pills helped with the need to always be doing something. It was nice.

The castle had a well stocked library and Dean visited more often than he expected. If… people from his past were there they'd call him a geek.

He probably shouldn't think about them. Mr. Whiteman encouraged a complete severing between previous life and the present.

Dean was one of Mr. Whiteman's best pupils. It was nice to see the light of pride in the older man's eyes. He'd always done exactly what his father said but had rarely seen such a smile.

Right.

Don't think about them.

It was time for another pill. Thinking like this was dangerous.

He rose from his seat in the library where he'd been holed away since his shift at breakfast. He hadn't meant to skip lunch but he hadn't really been hungry lately. Eating was an afterthought born of habit. If he wasn't the one cooking the meal he'd sometimes forget to eat altogether. It was funny. Food was available at all times and yet it was completely unnecessary. Maybe the pills had some nourishing properties or something.

It didn't matter.

No one got mad if he did eat. No one worried if he didn't eat.

He was left alone but didn't feel lonely.

It was… perfect.

He pulled at the large oak door.

Nothing happened.

He tried to calm the rising panic of being trapped.

The door knob was jiggled and pulled but nothing happened. Dean offered a hard kick but only managed to hurt his foot.

Fine.

There had to be another way out of there.

He'd just have to find it.

As he turned away he heard the scuffling of feet on the other side of the door. Turning back, he knocked loudly. "Hello? Anyone there?"

Under the door, shadows showed feet that quickly turned and ran.

"Hey!" Dean called out again. A growl of frustration accompanied another swift bang on the door.

Had someone intentionally locked him in here? Normally he could pick the lock but the door didn't even seem locked… it was weird. It was kind of like when a ghost locked them in a room. Was there a ghost?

Whatever.

He'd have to find another way out. Dean started feeling along the walls, hoping to find… he wasn't exactly sure what. Just something to get him out. Something to keep him from panicking.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been trying but it felt like hours. Maybe there was something behind one of the bookshelves? If he could just move it away from the wall-

"Good luck with that."

The familiar voice had Dean spinning around so quickly it caused his vision to black out.

"You good, Deuce? Not gonna pass out on me are you?"

"Caleb? What-"

"Oh, don't give me that." Caleb plopped down on the couch. "Just because you're going through withdrawals doesn't mean you have to be a jerk to me. Or do you want me to start calling you Dean now too?"

"I'm not going through withdrawals." The defiant words couldn't mask the fact that Dean's vision was still cutting in and out and if he was being honest with himself, had been for awhile. And the room was spinning just a bit.

"Don't be so stubborn. Sit down before you fall down."

Dean meant to refuse, but found it was probably the safest option for the moment.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, squeezing his eyes shut, hoping to quell the rising headache.

"I think I should be asking you that. Didn't my whole 'don't do drugs' spiel have any effect?"

"It's not- it's not like I'm really doing drugs. It's not like that-"

"Yeah sure. That's why you can't go more than twelve hours without a pill. Sounds healthy to me."

"It helps Damien. Isn't that enough?" He didn't know why this made him so angry but it did. He didn't want Caleb- hallucination or not- questioning him. "And I don't know why you care! You chose dad's side over me anyway."

Caleb rolled his eyes. "Do you really believe that? Or is it just a convenient excuse for your new life as local cult drug addict."

"Stop it! It's not like that!"

"Yeah sure. GIve it about three seconds."

"Three-?" A pain ripped through his chest like he had been shot. He gasped, leaning forward to the point he almost fell off the couch.

"Okay maybe less than three but you get the idea."

"Are you doing this?" Dean gasped.

Another massive eye roll. "I'm literally a figment of your imagination. The only thing I'm doing is saying what you think I'd say."

"Can you make it stop? Please?" The pain was spreading. It was getting hard to breathe. His head felt like it was about to explode.

"Refer to previous answer."

Dean cried out, his knees hitting the floor.

"Must be pretty addictive. You're cycling through withdrawal symptoms pretty quickly."

"Not- not addict."

"You sound incredibly convincing."

"Shut. Up."

"Tell that to your brain, Deuce. That's all I am. But that's what the pills are for, right? Getting your brain to shut up?"

The pain was building up to the point where it was past bearable. Dean had felt pain before, almost every brand. And yet right now, all other pain seemed like nothing.

"You've got to breathe through it, Deuce." The tone had changed, and Caleb felt closer.

"C-can't."

"Come on, don't stop fighting it. You'll be fine."

"N' w'n't."

"Deep breaths, Deuce."

He couldn't get words to form anymore. He felt his consciousness slipping. Dean would later blame the pain for mentally calling out for Caleb the final moment before slipping into darkness.

~SPN~

Dean jerked awake, taking in a gasp of air like he'd been underwater for hours.

"There you are." The kind face of Whiteman appeared.

"W-what happened?" He sounded horrible.

The old man smiled, handing him a glass of water. "It appears you passed out."

"I-I was trapped. I couldn't get out. The door was stuck."

A raised eyebrow. "It was fine when I came in."

"I couldn't get out. That's why I didn't take my pill. I couldn't get out."

"I see." The man looked thoughtful and maybe slightly disappointed. It made Dean feel ill. "There's a reason I told you to take it consistently."

"And I tried to! I did! But I couldn't get out!"

Whiteman gave him a scrutinizing look, as if trying to figure out if he was being lied to. Finally he nodded. "I've given you a dose for now, but don't miss another. You can't imagine my concern when I came in to find you collapsed. It is well past curfew."

"What time is it?"

"It's nearly time for breakfast."

Dean typically took a pill when he woke up. So he'd gone almost twenty four hours without it. That was not a mistake he'd make again.

"I'll start carrying them with me."

"That seems like a wise decision." He paused for a moment. "Is there something you'd like to discuss? I know that there can be strange effects if you go too long without my peace."

Dean hesitated, but finally shook his head. He remembered parts of the ordeal but didn't have them straight enough to talk about. All he knew was that he didn't want it to happen again.

~TH~

Hmmm

So...

Connection between the two chapters?

I think that's pretty obvious lol.

We're getting closer to a meeting between the two. Not next chapter but the one after that. I'll try to post the next chapter sometime next week.

Happy Hamakua, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza, Happy Solstice, or whatever you celebrate! Just have a great week!

Much love and God bless,

Jamie