by Amelia Esla
"This is real?" Sam sputtered. "Your not crazy?"
Dean walked back over to the poor girl. "It's not really granting wishes," He explained, although he knew Sam was not listening. He was more worried about high-tailing it out of here. "It just makes you think it has..."
"Dude, we have to get out of here," Sam cut him off. "That... thing could come back... alright?"
"I'm just like her," Dean realized. "I'm tied up somewhere in this place. None of this is real. It's all in my head."
"Okay, okay, you're right. You're not crazy- but we need to get out of here, and fast!" Sam argued, trying to drag his stubborn brother out.
Dean refused to be moved. "Your not real." He said, simply. He had known it all along...but now he was sure of it. "There's only one way to be sure." He reached into his leather jacket and pulled out the knife he had brought with him for the Djinn.
Sam's eyes went wide. He held up his hands and backed away, afraid of what his brother might do. "Whoa whoa! Hold on, Dean..."
"They say if you're about to die in a dream, you wake up." Dean held out the knife to hold off Sam. He just needed to wake up... If the Djinn had gotten to him, it could easily have gotten to the real Sam and Megan, too. He needed to warn them.
"Dean, this is not a dream. I am here, right now, with you, and you are about to kill yourself, Dean."
"No, I'm pretty sure," Dean considered it for a moment. "Like, 90% sure. But I'm sure enough."
He turned the knife toward himself, and was about to lunge it in when he heard someone else beside him. Mom?
Then, from seemingly nowhere, he was surrounded by his mother, Jess and Carmen. "Why did you have to keep digging?" Sam's face changed. He was no longer terrified, just... disappointed. "Why couldn't you just leave well enough alone. You were happy."
His mother stood in front of him. She smiled kindly and spoke with gentle care. "Put the knife down, hunny."
"You're not real. None of it is." Dean protested.
"It doesn't matter. It's still better than anything you had."
"That's not true!" Dean was startled by a new voice. He watched in confusion as Megan ran out from behind Jess. "Don't listen to them, Dean. They aren't real."
"Megan...?"
"I know you, Dean. The real you- the you who hunts evil and saves people long after the world itself ends." She came up beside his mother and pushed him aside, taking him away from his fake family. "You've done so much for so many people- don't let them trick you into thinking otherwise."
"This is everything you want," His mother argued. "We're a family again. Let's go home."
Dean's eyes darted between Megan and his mom. It was true- this was the life he had always dreamed of, but could never quite have. He wanted this normalcy- just as much, if not more, than his brother. Yet Megan was right too, he had helped a lot of people. He couldn't just throw that all away.
"Sam is back there, Dean." Megan grabbed his hand, getting his attention. "We both are. And we need you. Not just for the Djinn- we need you with us." Before he could respond, Megan stood up on her toes and put her lips against his. He felt his stomach flutter with a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time as she kissed him.
When she let go, he knew his choice had been made. He looked back at his family- at the life he was giving up- and whispered, "I'm sorry." Before shoving the blade into his chest. The last thing he saw was Megan standing in front of him as he blacked out.
...
"Dean?" Sam called out across the first floor hallways. He hadn't been in the lobby or the bathrooms, and he didn't seem to be in any of the room either. "Dude? Where are you?"
"He must still be in the basement," Megan shrugged. She would of thought he'd be done by now.
She followed Sam downstairs to the basement. There was barely any light at all, and she couldn't see anything. "Don't we have a flashlight or something?"
"No batteries for it." Same shrugged, pulling it out of his jacket and handing it to her. He had meant to find some in the hotel somewhere. "Shh- do you hear something?" Sam strained his ears. Someone was certainly down here- but if it was Dean, he would have said something, right?
"Dean?" Megan offered.
"Better safe than sorry," Sam whispered, taking out his gun. Megan followed suit. "Don't shoot unless you know its not Dean," Sam warned.
The two of them snuck behind one of the walls, and Sam peered through the doorway. Even in the dark, his hazel eyes immediately fell on his brother, who was hanging from the ceiling by a rope wrapped around his wrists. His face was drained of all color except dark rings around his eyes. His wrists were bleeding from the rope rubbing against his skin. His eyes were slightly open, but he was staring at nothing in particular, and seemed to be completely out of it. Across from him, there was a young girl in the same position. Both of them had tubes running from their bodies, draining blood from them.
Sam had to fight his instinct to run to Dean when he saw a man standing in the center of the room. He was pale and hairless, with blue menacing eyes and dark tattoo's running along his skin. A Djinn...
Megan brought a hand to her mouth to keep herself from making any noise. She had no idea what that thing was, but by the look on Sam's face, she figured it wasn't good. She put her hand on his shoulder momentarily to get his attention. She widened her eyes when he looked at her, and tilted her head to ask "What do we do?"
Sam willed himself to think. What he needed was a silver knife dipped in lambs blood, but that was basically impossible to get right now. I'll just have to improvise...
"On second thought, Megan... let me have that flashlight back," Megan happily obliged. "Stay here until I say so, okay?" Megan nodded. She was too scared to be of any use, anyway, she figured.
The Djinn walked up to Dean and unhooked the tube from the IV bag. He held it over his mouth, and let his blood drip into it. Megan had to look away before screaming.
Sam, however, took his distraction as an opportunity. Holding the flashlight tightly in one hand, he snuck up behind it. He was about to strike when the Djinn turned unrepentantly. He knocked the surprised Sam onto the ground, and the flashlight rolled out of his reach. Before Sam could get his bearings, the Djinn was on top of him. It held him down and reached for his face with its hand. As he did so, his eyes and hand began to glow unnaturally blue, and Sam realized what it was doing.
It's trying to do what it did to Dean. It's trying to knock me out and-
Sam's thoughts were cut off by the WHACK of the flashlight against the Djinn's head. The Djinn fell off of Sam, bringing its hands to its now bleeding head. Megan stood above him, holding the flashlight in her hands. She looked utterly shocked at her own strength. "Are you okay, Sam?"
"Yeah- give that to me," While Megan had been incredibly forceful with her hit, it wouldn't be enough to kill the damn thing. Without the silver knife, killing the Djinn would be similar to killing a zombie- you gotta bash it's brains in. Or, you know, blow it's brains out, His mind reminded him. He quickly pulled out his gun, and shot several rounds into the Djinns head. It seemed to do the trick.
Sam stood, breathing heavily. "Go...go get Dean. Make sure he's okay." He motioned to Megan. She stared at him for a second as if not comprehending, and then swiftly ran over to Dean.
"Dean? Dean!" Megan carefully untied his arms and helped him down. "Oh, God, thought we lost you."
"You almost did," Dean grumbled, half unconscious still.
Sam untied the girl and helped her down. She did not respond to his touch or voice, but she was still breathing. She needs serious medical attention. Sam thought, ruefully. More than I can give her.
Dean wrapped his arm around Megan's shoulder and she helped him to the stairwell. She was struggling under his weight, though. "Sam, I'm gonna need your help." She admitted.
"I can...i can do it-" Dean argued, not wanting all this help. He half remembered his dream if you could call it that, but he certainly remembered Megan's involvement. It wasn't really her, He re
minded himself. All of it was just some supernatural acid trip. In an attempt to save his pride, he tried to pull himself away from Megan, but almost as soon as he let her go, he tumbled forward.
"Dean!" Megan clasped onto the his shirt to hold him up, but it did very little. She helped him into a sitting position on the stairs. "Jeez, Dean. Don't do that,"
Sam lied the girl on the ground gently. "Here, Megan. Can you carry her up to the first floor? Get her in a bed, and then I'll see what I can do for her."
Megan nodded, and glanced at Dean for a second before going over to her. She slid her hands underneath her and lifted the girl up. She wasn't the easiest to carry, but she was much lighter than Dean was.
Sam sat beside Dean as Megan went upstairs. He was looking him over for injuries when he realized Dean was doing the same thing to him. Idiot... I'm not the one who got caught by the Djinn!
"You okay S'mmy?" His words were slightly slurred. He had a gash on the back of his head which seemed to have stopped bleeding by now, but it left a lot of dried blood in his hair and his back. Sam realized how thin he had gotten, and wondered if he looked different too. They weren't eating as much as they used to, and they weren't sleeping as much. Even before getting attacked, Dean probably looked worse than ever.
"Yeah, Dean, I'm fine. What about you?"
Dean chuckled painfully. "Me? I'm great. Never been better!" Hen his face darkened. "Should've seen it, S'mmy."
"Seen what?"
"The Dji- Djinn. He... he made up this whole world in my head. He gr'nted me a wish- that Mom liv'd." Dean thought about what he had seen. He wised to God that's how his life really was- but it was all a lie. None of it was real. The Djinn didn't grant any wishes. He simply gave Dean the opportunity to write his own story, but that's all it was: a story.
Sam stayed silent, so Dean continued. "We didn't get along... i guess without hunting... but you were so happy. You had Jess..."
Sam didn't like the look on Deans face. He couldn't quite tell what it was...longing? Regret? Did he regret waking up? "But it wasn't real, Dean." He reminded him.
"Yeah... I know. But... it was great."
"Come on, Dean." Sam stood and held out his hand. "Let's go. I have to try and help that girl." Thankfully, Dean accepted his brothers hand and forced himself to stand.
He allowed Sam to lead him into on of the rooms and lay him down on the bed. "I'm gonna get Megan to fix you up, okay? You're kinda a mess."
Dean laughed. "Yeah...okay..." his voice trailed off as he closed his eyes.
Sam stared at him for a few moments before leaving to find the girls.
16- He's Got Plans for You
Dean pulled away after a few seconds of not thinking- of being completely engulfed in the kiss. In her touch, in her hair, in her lips. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have..." He stood, putting as much distance between them as he could in such a little room.
"No, no," Megan looked down at the floor again, wiping her lips. "Totally my fault,"
Dean sighed, glancing over at Megan. She kept looking over at him and looking away again. No, it's really not... He thought about his wanna-be "fling" with the shape shifter, and the dream-Megan from his mind. He'd been wanting to do that for a while, even if he didn't want to admit it. It was pretty obvious now. "I should... go find Sam. He'll wanna see how I'm feeling..."
Megan shook her head, standing up. "No, no, you should lay down. I'll go get him." She half-smiled as she brushed past him on her way out the door.
Dean didn't have a chance to reply before she was gone. "Dammit," Dean pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes, internally berating himself. "Stupid, stupid," He muttered under his breath.
Megan slowed her pace after she was far away from the room. The hotel was huge, and there was plenty of space to put in between herself and Dean. "Idiot," She rolled her eyes at her own stupidity. What was she thinking? She was traveling with these boys. She was close to them- sure. But not... intimate... There was no way this would work out between them- and then what?
She made it to the staircase and realized she hadn't even looked for Sam, yet. "Sam? Sam, you there?" She called back into the hall. Must be upstairs...
She made her way up, and walked the hall, calling for him. Nothing. "Maybe he's sleeping." Still not worried, she kept going up until she reached the final floor- and still hadn't found him. She double-checked the rooms on her way down.
"The Impala!" She realized. He had probably went outside for something. Megan wasn't thrilled about leaving the safety of the building, but she wanted him to check on Dean. And she wanted someone around other than the two of them.
Meanwhile, Dean sat in his room, staring at the wall. It was taking a long time for Megan to return with Sam, but he figured she was taking her time to avoid him.
Suddenly, Megan poked her head through his door. She was frowning. "Dean...uh, I can't find your brother."
Dean raised one eyebrow. "What? How could you not find him? Where could he be?" He strained to not make his voice accusatory. It wasn't her fault- he was just worried.
Megan shook her head. "I don't know. I checked everywhere- I even went into the basement..."
Dean jumped up from the bed, ignoring the dizziness and lightheadedness that came with the movement. "The dork. Always getting himself lost..." He muttered. "Come on."
...
"Dammit. Damn it, damn it, SAM!" Dean stomped his foot on the ground like a child throwing a temper tantrum. Where the hell could Sam have gone? Dean was supposed to be looking out for the kid, and now he's God knows where. It didn't even make any sense. Unless...
"Would he have... gone for a walk or something?" Megan suggested.
"For this long?" He growled. Dean knew what had happened to his brother. "No. It was the demon. I know it."
"The Demon? As in..."
"Yes. That one. He has my brother, and we are going to find him."
...
When Sam woke up, the first thing he noticed was his pounding headache. In fact, for a few moments, his headache was all he could think about. Oh my god, this really hurts. I need an aspirin. These lights are way too bright. Dean really needs to shut up with all the noise.
It wasn't until he thought of Dean, that he realized something was up. Painfully, he peeled open his eyes, trying to see past the glaring lights from in front of him. Flashlights... He was sitting in an uncomfortable wooden chair, in what seemed like an empty house. "Wha- what's going on?" He mumbled. As his eyes adjusted, he made out two men and a woman standing in front of him. The woman held the flashlight, and was pointing it straight at him.
"Mornin', Sammy," One of the men smirked. "Boss is gonna be real happy you're awake."
"He's got plans for you, big boy." The woman came closer to him, and for the first time Sam noticed her pitch black eyes. She reached forward and caressed his cheek. Instinctively, he tried to reach out and grab her hand, but his hands and legs were tied down. "Not so fast. He didn't want you going anywhere just yet."
The woman backed away, and Sam saw someone else across the room. Another man about Sam's age was tied up in a chair just like Sam's. He wore a torn up army uniform, and looked in even worse condition than Sam did. "How many people you got tied up in here?" Sam snapped.
One of the demons glanced over at the other man, who seemed to be unconscious, and then back at Sam. "Just the two of you... now, anyway. There were more, but... well, you'll see."
All of a sudden, the door beside Sam burst open. The demons surrounding him stopped smiling abruptly, and straightened their backs. Before he even saw the guy, Sam knew it had to be the demon. "Well, well, well. My favorite is finally here," The demon quipped as he strutted into the room. Sam turned and his eyes followed him as he made his way slowly toward Sam.
"What do you want with me?" Sam growled, his jaw clenched. He wanted nothing more than to jump out of this God damn chair and rip his throat out. He wanted to end this here. But instead, all he could do is strain against the ro
pe wound too tightly on his wrists, and try and buy himself some time.
The demon smirked, his yellow eyes gleaming as he watched Sam struggle. "What do I want from you, Sammy boy? Well, I just want you to do what you were born to do." He answered, as if that explained anything.
"Oh, yeah? And what's that?"
The demon narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. Instead, he motioned to the other man tied up. "You boys grow up so fast, you know that?" He went on. "It's a shame so many of my special children didn't make it here... this whole 'zombie apocalypse' thing really hurt my plans, you know."
"What do you mean?" Sam demanded. He had almost completely untied the rope on his hands. His feet were another problem, but he'd cross that bridge when he got to it. For now, he needed the demon to monologue some more.
"You were all born leaders. You were all meant for greatness. But some... didn't make it. Those who did were brought here. One by one. I had to see which one was stronger- which one could survive the longest. Now you two are the last one's up." The demon turned his attention to his minions. "You know what to do." He said, simply. The others nodded, and then all three left the room.
"You see, Sam, only one of you is making it out of this place alive, you understand? It's either you are Jake over there." At the mention of his name, Jake began to stir. When he opened his eyes, he didn't seem surprised by his surroundings. He had done this before- probably with some other "special child."
"That's what you think." Sam countered.
Suddenly, the three demons were back, but they weren't alone. Each were holding a short rope that was attached to a zombie. The zombies were growling and trying to reach for the demons, but the rope secured their arms down, and they were too far away to bite. The tossed the zombies into the room and all three of them fell over. "No, Sam. I know." The demon motioned for the other demons to follow him out the door. "Good luck Sam. You too, Jake. You're gonna need it." Before he left, he glanced back and forth between the two defenseless men, grinned, and then snapped his fingers. The ropes, being the only thing keeping the zombies from attacking them, disappeared.